ONTOGENETIC CHANGE IN COLORATION AND WEB-BUILDING BEHAVIOR IN THE TROPICAL SPIDER ERIOPHORA FULIGINEA (ARANEAE, ARANEIDAE)

Eriophora fuliginea (Araneae, Araneidae), a tropical orb-weaving spider from Panama, undergoes a dramatic color change in the course of its ontogenesis. The first free instar has an amber opisthosoma, which soon becomes bright yellow, later green. Subadults change to olive, adults are dark brown with a white median stripe. Parallel to this color modification the spider's behavior changes as well. The main activity phase shifts from day to night and web architecture changes from symmetrical horizontal orb-webs on the upper side of leaves with the spider on the hub, to asymmetrical horizontal orb-webs between shrubs with spiders in a rolled leaf nearby.