Phenotypic integration in a series of trophic traits: tracing the evolution of myrmecophagy in spiders (Araneae)

Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain the evolution of prey specificity (stenophagy). Yet little light has so far been shed on the process of evolution of stenophagy in carnivorous predators. We performed a detailed analysis of a variety of trophic adaptations in one species. Our aim was to determine whether a specific form of stenophagy, myrmecophagy, has evolved from euryphagy via parallel changes in several traits from pre-existing characters. For that purpose, we studied the trophic niche and morphological, behavioural, venomic and physiological adaptations in a euryphagous spider, Selamia reticulata. It is a species that is branching off earlier in phylogeny than stenophagous ant-eating spiders of the genus Zodarion (both Zodariidae). The natural diet was wide and included ants. Laboratory feeding trials revealed versatile prey capture strategies that are effective on ants and other prey types. The performance of spiders on two different diets – ants only and mixed insects – failed to reveal differences in most fitness components (survival and developmental rate). However, the weight increase was significantly higher in spiders on the mixed diet. As a result, females on a mixed diet had higher fecundity and oviposited earlier. No differences were found in incubation period, hatching success or spiderling size. S. reticulata possesses a more diverse venom composition than Zodarion. Its venom is more effective for the immobilisation of beetle larvae than of ants. Comparative analysis of morphological traits related to myrmecophagy in the family Zodariidae revealed that their apomorphic states appeared gradually along the phylogeny to derived prey-specialised genera. Our results suggest that myrmecophagy has evolved gradually from the ancestral euryphagous strategy by integrating a series of trophic traits.     

Prey classification by an araneophagic ant-like jumping spider (Araneae: Salticidae)

What to attack is one of the most basic decisions predators must make, and these decisions are reliant upon the predator's sensory and cognitive capacity. Active choice of spiders as preferred prey, or araneophagy, has evolved in several distantly related spider families, including jumping spiders (Salticidae), but has never been demonstrated in ant-like jumping spiders. We used prey-choice tests with motionless lures to investigate prey-choice behaviour in Myrmarachne melanotarsa , an East African ant-like salticid that normally lives in aggregations and often associates with other spider species. We show that M . melanotarsa chooses spiders as prey in preference to insects and, furthermore, discriminates between different types of spiders. Myrmarachne melanotarsa 's preferred prey were juvenile hersiliids and its second most preferred were other salticids. To date, all documented examples of araneophagic salticids have been from the basal subfamily Spartaeinae. Myrmarachne melanotarsa is the first non-spartaeine and also the first ant-like salticid for which araneophagy has been demonstrated.     

The global relationship between climate,net primary production and the diet of spiders

Aim We compiled data on prey utilization of spiders at a global scale to better understand the relationship between current climate or net primary production (NPP) and diet breadth, evenness and composition in spiders. We test whether the productivity and the diversity–climatic‐stability (DCS) hypotheses focusing on diversity patterns may also explain global patterns in prey utilization by web‐building and cursorial spiders. Location A global dataset of 95 data points from semi‐natural and natural terrestrial habitats spanning 41.3° S to 56.1° N. Methods We collected data on spider prey (29 groups, mostly order‐level invertebrate taxa) through extensive literature research to identify the relationship between climatic conditions and NPP and spider diets based on 66 studies of prey composition in 82 spider species. Results The number of prey groups in spider diets was positively related to NPP, after accounting for differences in sampling effort in the original studies. In general, diet breadth was significantly higher for spider species in tropical environments. Prey individuals in spider diets were more evenly distributed among different prey groups in warmer environments with lower fluctuations in precipitation. Collembola and other spiders were more common prey for spiders with a cursorial hunting mode. Myriapoda and Collembola were more common prey in cooler climates with more stable precipitation, whereas Isoptera, Lepidoptera, Psocoptera and Coleoptera showed the opposite pattern. Main conclusions The positive relationship between diet breadth and NPP and the negative relationship between prey evenness and seasonality in precipitation support the productivity and the DCS hypotheses, respectively. This effect on global patterns of invertebrate predator–prey interactions suggests that trophic interactions between spiders and their prey are sensitive to climatic conditions. Climatic conditions may not only affect spider community composition, but also considerably alter the functional role of these abundant invertebrate predators in terrestrial ecosystems.     

The diversity,recombination and horizontal transmission of Wolbachia in spiders in China

Wolbachia are maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria. These intracellular bacteria are common in arthropods and could manipulate host reproduction in diverse ways, such as feminization, parthenogenesis, male killing and cytoplasmic incompatibility. In spiders, infection by Wolbachia has been found in a total of 99 species belonging to 62 genera and 17 families. Furthermore, recent studies analyzed the phylogeny of Wolbachia in Hylyphantes graminicola, 2 cave spiders and Agelenopsis species using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) approach. However, the diversity of Wolbachia strains determined by MLST in spiders from China is still largely unknown.In this study, we collected 1153 spider individuals from Mangshan in China and screened for Wolbachia in 975 individuals representing 68 spider species belonging to 45 genera of 16 families. We analyzed the phylogenetic relationship between Wolbachia and their host spiders by MLST approach. We found novel infections of Wolbachia in 1 family, 9 genera and 20 species of spiders. We found 13 new Wolbachia strains and suggest that group A is more common than group B in Wolbachia that infect spiders. Our results revealed three recombination events of the concatenated multilocus sequences in Wolbachia that infect spiders. Furthermore, our results demonstrated the phylogenetic incongruence between Wolbachia and spiders, suggesting the horizontal transmission of Wolbachia in spiders.We suggest that recombination and horizontal transmission may play an important role in the diversity and evolution of Wolbachia in spiders.     

From a comb to a tree: phylogenetic relationships of the comb-footed spiders (Araneae, Theridiidae) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial genes

The family Theridiidae is one of the most diverse assemblages of spiders, from both a morphological and ecological point of view. The family includes some of the very few cases of sociality reported in spiders, in addition to bizarre foraging behaviors such as kleptoparasitism and araneophagy, and highly diverse web architecture. Theridiids are one of the seven largest families in the Araneae, with about 2200 species described. However, this species diversity is currently grouped in half the number of genera described for other spider families of similar species richness. Recent cladistic analyses of morphological data have provided an undeniable advance in identifying the closest relatives of the theridiids as well as establishing the family's monophyly. Nevertheless, the comb-footed spiders remain an assemblage of poorly defined genera, among which hypothesized relationships have yet to be examined thoroughly. Providing a robust cladistic structure for the Theridiidae is an essential step towards the clarification of the taxonomy of the group and the interpretation of the evolution of the diverse traits found in the family. Here we present results of a molecular phylogenetic analysis of a broad taxonomic sample of the family (40 taxa in 33 of the 79 currently recognized genera) and representatives of nine additional araneoid families, using approximately 2.5kb corresponding to fragments of three nuclear genes (Histone 3, 18SrDNA, and 28SrDNA) and two mitochondrial genes (16SrDNA and CoI). Several methods for incorporating indel information into the phylogenetic analysis are explored, and partition support for the different clades and sensitivity of the results to different assumptions of the analysis are examined as well. Our results marginally support theridiid monophyly, although the phylogenetic structure of the outgroup is unstable and largely contradicts current phylogenetic hypotheses based on morphological data. Several groups of theridiids receive strong support in most of the analyses: latrodectines, argyrodines, hadrotarsines, a revised version of spintharines and two clades including all theridiids without trace of a colulus and those without colular setae. However, the interrelationships of these clades are sensitive to data perturbations and changes in the analysis assumptions.     

Phylogeny of the snailfishes (Teleostei: Liparidae) based on molecular and morphological data

Liparidae (snailfishes) is one of the most diverse and abundant fish families in polar and deep-sea habitats. However, the evolution of this family is poorly known because of the rarity of many species and difficulties in scoring morphological characters. We perform phylogenetic analyses of Liparidae using sequences from two mtDNA genes, 16S (585 bp) and cytochrome b (426 bp), and 84 morphological characters from 24 species of Liparidae and 4 species of Cyclopteridae (outgroup). The present study confirms earlier hypotheses that the shallow-water genera, such as Liparis and Crystallichthys, occupy basal positions and that deep-water genera, such as Careproctus, Elassodiscus, Rhinoliparis, Paraliparis, Rhodichthys and Psednos, are increasingly derived. The later two genera form a terminal clade which does not include Paraliparis. The topology shows that the family has undergone a reductive type of evolution, with a gradual loss of characters (e.g. sucking disc/pelvic fins, pseudobranchial filaments, skin spinules). Nectoliparis, which had previously been placed either as the basal most genus or among the most derived genera, are found to occupy the most basal position among the taxa analyzed. This result indicates that the sucking disc has been lost at least twice during the evolution of the Liparidae. The basal position of Nectoliparis is supported by its plesiomorphic otolith morphology, whereas an advanced overgrown otolith ostium, unique among teleosts, is found to be apomorphic for a clade containing the derived genera: Paraliparis, Psednos, Rhinoliparis and Rhodichthys. We also identify the presence of probable nuclear inserts of mitochondrial DNA (Numts) in three species of Careproctus and in Elassodiscus caudatus.     

Spiders and harvestmen as gastropod predators

1. Reports are reviewed of gastropod feeding (malacophagy) by spiders and harvestmen. Although the standard textbooks on arachnids recognise the importance of gastropods as prey of harvestmen, none apparently refers to malacophagy by spiders. A review of several hundred papers on spider feeding habits revealed that species from several families kill and devour slugs and snails in the laboratory and/or field. 2. Malacophagy has been reported most frequently among mygalomorph spiders, and can make up a substantial proportion of the diets of some species, however gastropods make up an insignificant percentage of the prey of most araneomorph spiders. The spiders that eat gastropods are species with broad diets composed predominantly of arthropod prey. No species of spider appears to feed exclusively on gastropod prey. 3. Harvestmen from several families have broad diets that often include gastropods. Several species of the family Trogulidae and at least one species of the family Ischyropsalididae [Ischyropsalis hellwigi (Panzer)] are specialised gastropod predators. The trogulids are slender animals that attack the snail through the shell aperture (shell intruders). Ischyropsalis hellwigi, on the other hand, can crush snail shells with its powerful chelicerae (shell breakers). 4. The review highlights apparent convergent evolution by harvestmen and Carabidae of two mutually exclusive morphologies found among gastropod predators. It also suggests that there is an urgent need for systematic studies to be conducted to establish the extent and ecological importance of malacophagy in natural and anthropogenically altered habitats.     

Variation of butterfly diet breadth in relation to host-plant predictability: results from two faunas

Host‐plant data for North American and Australian butterflies were used to test the hypothesis that larval diet breadth increases with decreasing resource predictability (where the latter was estimated by host‐plant growth‐form/duration). For each region in turn we compared the diet breadths of butterflies which utilise herbaceous host‐plants with those of species having woody hosts. For North America alone we also compared the diet breadths of species having annual hosts with those utilising perennial hosts, and the diets of species having herbaceous‐annual hosts with those using woody‐perennial hosts. Studies of diet breadth may be biased by the host taxonomic level which contributes most to the diet index used. For example, the results of analyses which employ indices based on numbers of families of hosts utilised may differ from those using indices based on counts of host species or genera. To investigate this potential problem we performed cross‐species analyses where diet breadth was defined in turn as the number of host species, genera, or families eaten. We found that using different taxonomic levels did give inconsistent results. To avoid this we employed phylogenetic diet breadth indices in comparative analyses of Independent Contrasts. The former incorporate information from the whole of the host‐plant phylogeny, whilst the comparative method eliminates any confounding effects of butterfly phylogeny. The results indicated that there is a phylogenetic component to butterfly diet breadth. They also largely differed from those of the cross‐species investigations, although there were similarities (i.e. results differed between regions and varied according to whether the whole fauna or just endemics were investigated). Our results suggested that in both regions, non‐endemics which feed on herbaceous plants have wider diet breadths than non‐endemics which utilise woody hosts. However, we found no consistent evidence that the diet breadths of endemics increase with decreasing resource predictability (as estimated here).     

Diet of Neotropical parrots is independent of phylogeny but correlates with body size and geographical range

Body mass and geographical range are two main drivers of diet in animals, yet how these factors influence diet in the morphologically and ecologically diverse avian group of Psittaciformes is little known. We reviewed current knowledge of the diet of Neotropical parrots and assessed the relation between diet (breadth and composition), phylogeny, body mass and geographical range. Diet has been documented for 98 of 165 species, but information is available only for 34 of 59 threatened species, and countries with high species diversity (> 20 species) had few studies (one to seven). Neotropical parrot species consumed 1293 plant species of 125 families. When assessing the relative frequency of different food items in the diet (seed, fruits, flowers, leaves, nectar, bark and stems), we found that parrots mostly exploited seeds (41.9%) and fruits (38.3%) of native species. Diet overlap was very low among genera (0.006–0.321). At the species level, geographical range and body size explained the variation in diet composition. In particular, small parrots of restricted distribution had a distinct diet composition relative to either large or widely distributed species. Although body size and geographical range showed phylogenetic inertia, diet was independent of phylogenetic history. Our review not only reveals ecological factors explaining diet in a generalist group but also exposes information gaps across the Neotropical region.     

中国洞穴蜘蛛多样性及其对洞穴环境的适应

对中国洞穴蜘蛛的多样性、地理分布信息进行了详细的闸述.初步探讨了洞穴蜘蛛对洞穴环境的适应性特征及其进化机制.我国洞穴蜘蛛目前已知16科27属80种,其巾暗蛛科、弱蛛科、泰莱蛛科和巨蟹蛛科物种最多;在属级阶元上,以弱蛛属Leptoneta14种、泰莱蛛属Telema lO种、龙角蛛属Draamar如和巾遁蛛属Sinopoda各9种,宽隙蛛属Platocoelotes 8种居多.我国洞穴蜘蛛主要集中分布在贵卅、海南、云南、北京、浙江、广西等喀斯特洞穴较为密集地区,在河北、河南、湖北和湖南也有部分报道.在不同地区分布的洞穴蜘蛛类群或优势类群及区系成分等都存在较大差异.洞穴蜘蛛中约有20%～30%的种类凶为长期生活在黑暗无光、食物匮乏以及缺乏温度和光周期的季节调节等特殊环境,出现了一些地表生境蜘蛛类群中所没有的刘洞穴环境的适应性特征,如缺乏体色素、眼退化共至无眼、附肢延长、全身牛有很多具较敏锐触觉和嗅觉功能的感觉毛、繁殖无季节性、耗氧量降低而新陈代谢缓慢、代谢率降低、产牛的后代少、单个卵粒包含更多的营养等.     

Are you what you eat? A highly transient and prey‐influenced gut microbiome in the grey house spider Badumna longinqua

Stable core microbial communities have been described in numerous animal species and are commonly associated with fitness benefits for their hosts. Recent research, however, highlights examples of species whose microbiota are transient and environmentally derived. Here, we test the effect of diet on gut microbial community assembly in the spider Badumna longinqua. Using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing combined with quantitative PCR, we analyzed diversity and abundance of the spider's gut microbes, and simultaneously characterized its prey communities using nuclear rRNA markers. We found a clear correlation between community similarity of the spider's insect prey and gut microbial DNA, suggesting that microbiome assembly is primarily diet‐driven. This assumption is supported by a feeding experiment, in which two types of prey—crickets and fruit flies—both substantially altered microbial diversity and community similarity between spiders, but did so in different ways. After cricket consumption, numerous cricket‐derived microbes appeared in the spider's gut, resulting in a rapid homogenization of microbial communities among spiders. In contrast, few prey‐associated bacteria were detected after consumption of fruit flies; instead, the microbial community was remodelled by environmentally sourced microbes, or abundance shifts of rare taxa in the spider's gut. The reshaping of the microbiota by both prey taxa mimicked a stable core microbiome in the spiders for several weeks post feeding. Our results suggest that the spider's gut microbiome undergoes pronounced temporal fluctuations, that its assembly is dictated by the consumed prey, and that different prey taxa may remodel the microbiota in drastically different ways.     

Body size and tree species composition determine variation in prey consumption in a forest‐inhabiting generalist predator

Trophic interactions may strongly depend on body size and environmental variation, but this prediction has been seldom tested in nature. Many spiders are generalist predators that use webs to intercept flying prey. The size and mesh of orb webs increases with spider size, allowing a more efficient predation on larger prey. We studied to this extent the orb‐weaving spider Araneus diadematus inhabiting forest fragments differing in edge distance, tree diversity, and tree species. These environmental variables are known to correlate with insect composition, richness, and abundance. We anticipated these forest characteristics to be a principle driver of prey consumption. We additionally hypothesized them to impact spider size at maturity and expect shifts toward larger prey size distributions in larger individuals independently from the environmental context. We quantified spider diet by means of metabarcoding of nearly 1,000 A. diadematus from a total of 53 forest plots. This approach allowed a massive screening of consumption dynamics in nature, though at the cost of identifying the exact prey identity, as well as their abundance and putative intraspecific variation. Our study confirmed A. diadematus as a generalist predator, with more than 300 prey ZOTUs detected in total. At the individual level, we found large spiders to consume fewer different species, but adding larger species to their diet. Tree species composition affected both prey species richness and size in the spider''s diet, although tree diversity per se had no influence on the consumed prey. Edges had an indirect effect on the spider diet as spiders closer to the forest edge were larger and therefore consumed larger prey. We conclude that both intraspecific size variation and tree species composition shape the consumed prey of this generalist predator.     

Caught in the web: Spider web architecture affects prey specialization and spider–prey stoichiometric relationships

Quantitative approaches to predator–prey interactions are central to understanding the structure of food webs and their dynamics. Different predatory strategies may influence the occurrence and strength of trophic interactions likely affecting the rates and magnitudes of energy and nutrient transfer between trophic levels and stoichiometry of predator–prey interactions. Here, we used spider–prey interactions as a model system to investigate whether different spider web architectures—orb, tangle, and sheet‐tangle—affect the composition and diet breadth of spiders and whether these, in turn, influence stoichiometric relationships between spiders and their prey. Our results showed that web architecture partially affects the richness and composition of the prey captured by spiders. Tangle‐web spiders were specialists, capturing a restricted subset of the prey community (primarily Diptera), whereas orb and sheet‐tangle web spiders were generalists, capturing a broader range of prey types. We also observed elemental imbalances between spiders and their prey. In general, spiders had higher requirements for both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) than those provided by their prey even after accounting for prey biomass. Larger P imbalances for tangle‐web spiders than for orb and sheet‐tangle web spiders suggest that trophic specialization may impose strong elemental constraints for these predators unless they display behavioral or physiological mechanisms to cope with nutrient limitation. Our findings suggest that integrating quantitative analysis of species interactions with elemental stoichiometry can help to better understand the occurrence of stoichiometric imbalances in predator–prey interactions.     

中国蜘蛛物种多样性分析

基于2011年1月更新的世界蜘蛛名录第11．5版,本文对中国蜘蛛的物种多样性进行了统计和分析：（1）目前中国共记述蜘蛛67科670属3667种,种数占世界蜘蛛的8．72％,仍有许多物种尚待发现;（2）目前中国特有蜘蛛物种共计2376种,占中国蜘蛛种数的64．79％、世界蜘蛛种数（42055种）的5．65％,表明中国蜘蛛特有物种极为丰富,为中国生物多样性的保护、环境及气候的历史演变和蜘蛛的系统演化研究起到重要作用;（3）已知蜘蛛物种数最多的省份为云南（728种,占19．85％）、湖南（612种,占16．69％）、四川（454种,占12．38％）等,一定程度上表明上述各省生物多样性丰富,但这一结果也与各地蜘蛛多样性研究不均衡有关。蜘蛛各科名录及统计数据可参见“中国蜘蛛特有物种网”。     

Phylogenetic indices for measuring the diet breadths of phytophagous insects

Prevailing methods of measuring diet breadth of phytophagous insects are not consistent between studies and generally rely on counts of a variety of higher plant taxa (e.g. genera, families, orders). Results derived from them can be inconsistent if different taxonomic levels are used between studies. In any case, such indices do not include information from the whole branching structure of the host plant phylogeny, and do not address the fact that higher taxa are not necessarily phylogenetically equivalent. Here we present novel phylogeny-based methods which address these shortcomings. Although a previously proposed index (the Phylogenetic Diversity index) may be employed, it cannot be used to measure diets of strictly monophagous insects (i.e. those which utilise a single host species). We therefore introduce a modification of this index (the Root Phylogenetic Diversity index) which may be applied to all diets. In addition, we propose a Clade Dispersion index as a branch-length-independent measure of the degree to which hosts are scattered across the host phylogeny. We describe how these indices could be employed in studies of insect diet breadth and discuss potential problems which may be encountered in their use. Received: 16 November 1998 / Accepted: 10 February 1999     

Spider Fauna of Jeju Island in Korea

A critical check list of the spiders in Jeju island, Korea is presented with review of published reports from 1936 to 2001 and identification of the authors' specimens collected from 1964 to 2001. Total 166 genera 347 species belonging to 36 families of spiders was classified in Jeju Island. The species composition of spiders in Jeju island comprises about 52% of total number of Korean spider species. Dominant spider families with species abundance were Araneidae, Salticidae, Theridiidae, Linyphiidae and Lycosidae. The spider fauna of Jeju island is under strong influence of northern species which are Holarctic and Palearctic species.     

Trophic specialisation in a predatory group: the case of prey‐specialised spiders (Araneae)

Predators appear to be less frequently specialised (i.e. adapted to restricted diet) on their prey than herbivores, parasites or parasitoids. Here, we critically evaluate contemporary evolutionary hypotheses that might be used to explain the evolution of specialised foraging in predators. We propose a unifying concept within which we define four types of trophic categories using ecological (diet breadth) and evolutionary (degree of adaptations) contexts. We use data on spiders (Araneae), the most diversified order of terrestrial predators, to assess applicability of frameworks and evolutionary concepts related to trophic specialisation. The majority of spider species are euryphagous but a few have a restricted prey range, i.e. they are stenophagous. We provide a detailed overview of specialisation on different prey types, namely spiders, crustaceans, moths, dipterans, ants, and termites. We also review the available evidence for trophic adaptations, classified into four categories: behavioural, morphological, venomic and metabolic. Finally, we discuss the ecological and evolutionary implications of trophic specialisation and propose avenues for future research.     

Trophic niche,capture efficiency and venom profiles of six sympatric ant‐eating spider species (Araneae: Zodariidae)

The arms race between specialist predators and their prey has resulted in the evolution of a variety of specific adaptations. In venomous predators, this can include venom composition, particularly if predators are specialized on dangerous prey. Here, we performed an integrative study using six species of highly specialized ant‐eating spiders of the genus Zodarion to investigate their phylogeny, realized trophic niche, efficacy in the capture of various ant species and venom composition. Data on natural diet obtained by next‐generation sequencing and field observations showed that the six Zodarion species exploit different ant species. Their phylogeny, based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes, correlated with the composition of their natural prey, indicating that closely related Zodarion species specialize on similar ant species. Prey‐capture parameters differed among Zodarion species suggesting prey‐specific efficacy. Similarly, the venom profiles of both low and high molecular compounds differed among species. Only the profiles of low molecular compounds were correlated with capture efficacy parameters, suggesting that the venom of Zodarion spiders contains prey‐specific components. Our study suggests that Iberian Zodarion spiders are specialized on particular ant species.     

贵州赤水桫椤自然保护区蜘蛛群落多样性分析

2008年5～10月,采用随机捕捉法、扫网法和扣管法相结合,对贵州赤水桫椤自然保护区内的灌丛、竹林、稻田等生境的蜘蛛群落结构进行了调查,共采集蜘蛛标本1937头,隶属于24科81属159种,其中以跳蛛科(38种)、园蛛科(29种)和球蛛科(23种)最多,占总量的56.6%。稻田内结网型蜘蛛数量明显少于竹林和灌丛,而游猎型蜘蛛数量则相对较多,群落稳定性较差;灌丛空间异质性大,蜘蛛数量大、种类丰富,群落稳定性强;竹林生境单一,但受人为干扰较小,地面相对干燥,结网型蜘蛛介于灌丛和稻田之间,游猎型蜘蛛则很少,但均匀度较高。3种生境蜘蛛群落结构为中等不相似,表明植被类型与蜘蛛群落结构密切相关。另外发现5～10月灌丛蜘蛛群落里肖蛸科的西里银鳞蛛Leucauge celebesiana处于优势种地位,具有较大的开发利用潜力。     

Diet composition of an escaped captive‐born southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) in a nonnative habitat in Asia

Studies on the role of natural predatory instincts in captive‐born mammalian myrmecophagy are rare. Consequently, researchers rely extensively on case reports to learn more about the contexts in which predatory behavior occurs among such animals. In this study, we recorded an uncommon case of a captive‐born southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) that accidentally escaped from a zoo into a nonnative habitat in Asia. The southern tamandua was found alive 3 months later. Two fresh fecal samples were obtained, and the diet composition was examined. Three termite species (one family, three genera), and 14 ant species (four subfamilies, nine genera) were identified in the fecal samples. The studied southern tamandua preyed on terrestrial and arboreal ants and termites, as the wild populations of its species do. Ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae and termites of the subfamily Nasutitermitinae were the most abundant prey items in the samples, which is consistent with related reports on the wild populations. Soldier ants constituted <1% of the prey items in the fecal samples, suggesting that the southern tamandua likely avoided preying on ants of the soldier caste. Fungus‐growing termites Odontotermes (Isoptera: Macrotermitinae), which are not native to neotropical regions, were also ingested by the southern tamandua. This study provides information on how a captive‐born mammalian myrmecophagy applies its natural feeding instincts in nonnative natural settings.