Orb weaving spiders of Valle del Cauca

Study Extent

Sampling

Method steps

1. Spiders and their silks were collected in eight locations situated at different heights and rainfall regimes in the Valle del Cauca (Atuncela, Bahía Málaga, Felidia, La Nevera, Llano Bajo, Tenerife, Vijes and Yotoco) under the “Permiso Marco de Recolección de Especímenes de Especies Silvestres de la Diversidad Biológica con Fines de Investigación Científica No Comercial” of Universidad Icesi (ANLA Auto N° 00040 of 10.01.2017). In each locality three replicates were sampled, each for 22 hours. This effort was carried out during the day and night, and was divided into 30-minute sampling units evenly distributed between three collectors. During sampling, four collection methods were used, depending on the information and the effectiveness for the capture of orbicular spiders (Table 1).
2. Sampling methods used for the collection of orbicular spiders with 30-minute sampling unit, advantages and disadvantages. Table 1: Header. Sampling method | Description | Sampling unit | Amount of sampling units 1. Manual collections (50 cm upward) | Visual inspection 50 cm above | 30 min | 6 at daytime 9 at nighttime 2. Manual collections (50 cm downward) | Visual inspection 50 cm below | 30 min 6 at daytime 9 at nighttime 3. Beating trap | Beating of vegetation with a stick | 30 min | 5 at daytime 2 at nighttime 4. Scoop net | Dragging of vegetation with a net, up to 5 m high | 30 min | 5 at daytime 2 at nighttime
3. Of the orbicular spiders (belonging to the families Araneidae, Tetragnathidae, Uloboridae, Deinopidae) captured, females larger than 0.5 cm were selected and collected alive for silk extraction. To that end, up to 24 hours after capture, they were anesthetized and fixed to Styrofoam. Once spiders regained conciseness, the residual silk in the spinnerets was captured with tweezers, fixed to a spool, and extracted by rotating the spool. This procedure produces up to 1.5 m of silk and does not harm the spider. Once the procedure for obtaining silk was completed, the spiders were preserved in alcohol to be identified, and silks were stored at room temperature with high humidity (>60%) in a dark environment.
4. In the laboratory, spiders were identified to the lowest taxonomic level (generally species or morphospecies) based on their morphology using the adequate identification literature. For the construction of a phylogeny of the sampled spider species, up to 4 legs were separated from roughly 2 specimens per species for subsequent sequencing.

1. Araneae
   rank: order
2. Araneidae
   rank: family
3. Tetragnathidae
   rank: family
4. Uloboridae
   rank: family
5. Deinopidae
   rank: family