Light Attraction Hypothesis in Arachnids: a New Test in Neotropical Forests

Patterns of phototaxis are incompletely characterized in arachnids and hardly generalizable because of large variations in orders, families, species, environments, and methods employed. In a neotropical forest of French Guiana, we tested the effect of both light and diameter on pitfall trap catches. Light had a significant effect on capture rates of all arachnids and on Araneae alone, with more individuals caught in lit traps. Without light, pitfall diameter had no effect on capture rates, while in lit traps, significantly fewer individuals were captured only in smaller traps. Light trapping is thus a promising tool to complete inventories in tropical forests. This field experiment calls for further studies of the mechanisms by which arachnids are attracted by light, especially by unraveling an actual phototaxis from indirect effects like prey attraction.