Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1995
Abstract
Spiders of the genus Lutica are fossorial inhabitants of coastal dunes of southern California, Baja California and the California Channel Islands. They live in silk-lined burrows concentrated beneath dune vegetation. Lutica are sit-and-wait predators that subdue insects that walk near or over burrows . They are sedentary and do not engage in aerial dispersal via ballooning . Adult males abandon their burrows during the late summer and early fall to wander in search of females . Females produce eggsacs and guard them till they die; spiderlings emerge in the spring. Dune trapdoor spiders (Aptostichus simus) prey on Lutica, while the larvae of a therevid fly are external parasites.
Recommended Citation
Ramirez, M. G. (1995). Natural history of the spider genus Lutica (Araneae, Zodariidae). Journal of Arachnology 23: 111-117.
