A perilous Malagasy triad: a spider (Vigdisia praesidens, gen. and sp. nov.) and an ant compete for termite food

Ants and termites are insect groups that make up most of the insect
biomass in tropical ecosystems. Due to their social structure and
abundance, they are some of the most bountiful prey available to other
invertebrates such as spiders. However, ants and termites possess
dangerous defense strategies, thus limiting their accessibility to general
predators. Here, we report on an unexpected finding of a three-way
predator-prey-kleptoparasite interaction in Madagascar among a termite
Nasutitermes sp. (prey), a previously unknown theridiid spider Vigdisia
praesidens gen. nov., sp. nov. (predator), and an ant Pheidole spinosa
(kleptoparasite). Our field observations suggest that the spiders are able
to detect a damaged termite nest from a distance to disperse onto it and
prey on its residents. Kleptoparasitic ants also arrive on the scene to
steal from the spiders their termite prey. Both the spider and the ant
seem to possess some degree of behavioural prey specialisation for
Nasutitermes termites. The here described ecological interaction warrants
further study to better understand the exploitation of signals by such
phylogenetically diverse arthropods.