Lying down with protective setae as an alternative antipredator defence in a non-webbing spider mite

An antipredator defence in the citrus red mite Panonychus citri, which does not produce protective webs, was examined experimentally. P. citri adult females lie down on citrus leaf surfaces with their dorsal setae (hair) directed in all upper directions. They seldom move in response to physical stimuli. Compared to normal lying females, both manipulated non-lying females and hair-removed females suffered higher predation by predatory mites. A predator approaching the body surface of a lying female inevitably created elasticity with a confronting seta, which eventually repelled the predator away from the female. These observations indicated that lying down with protective setae functions as an antipredator defence in P. citri females. This inflexible defence could also explain why the mite rarely runs away, even when it is consumed together with host plant leaves (via coincidental intraguild predation) by gigantic swallowtail caterpillars, against which protective setae are totally ineffective. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-2-637) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.