The host becomes dinner: possible use of Cyclosa as a nuptial gift by Argyrodes in a colonial web

Nuptial gifts in spiders are poorly documented. We report on an observation and on photographs of a colonial web in San Vicente de Chucurí, Santander, Colombia, which suggest a likely case of nuptial gift behavior in a male of the kleptoparasitic spider Argyrodes elevatus Taczanowski 1873 (Araneae: Theridiidae). Pictures of a male A. elevatus holding a dead Cyclosa huilaLevi 1999 (Araneae: Araneidae) wrapped in silk, in close proximity to a female A. elevatus facing him, document the couple at various moments at dusk and early the following morning. While no copulation is seen, these pictures suggest an attempt by the male to deliver a nuptial gift. Our observations support a recent report of apparent nuptial gift behavior in A. elevatus and raise questions on the foraging behavior of kleptoparasitic spiders in communal webs.