What’s changing? Maternal behaviour and egg sac chemistry in the wolf spider Pardosa paludicola

ABSTRACT

Female wolf spiders (Lycosidae) are characterized by their multifaceted offspring care, including carrying the egg sac attached to their spinnerets. The factors determining this care may be related to both the physiology of the female and chemical signals from the egg sac. In this study, we analysed behavioural and chemical aspects of maternal care in Pardosa paludicola. The behaviour of females who carried egg sacs was analysed for the time spent on different activities, and their frequency. Chemical compounds from egg sacs at various ages were identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. It has been shown that the more time that has passed after the egg sac was made, the less time the female spends resting, and the more time it spends moving. Egg sac manipulation is a significant activity on the first day after making the egg sac, and females carrying egg sacs containing already moving juveniles show more dynamic and variable activity. The chemical profile of the egg sac contains more than 140 chemical compounds, i.e. alcohols, hydrocarbons, fatty acids, and esters, the content of which changes with the days of care. The greatest changes in the content of many of these compounds occur on day 20, associated with the development of mobile juveniles in the egg sac. Among the identified compounds, fatty acids and sterols have a broad spectrum of antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Suprunowicz, U., Kostro-Ambroziak, A., Stocki, M., & Czortek, P. (2025). What’s changing? Maternal behaviour and egg sac chemistry in the wolf spider Pardosa paludicola. The European Zoological Journal, 92(1), 1255–1270.