{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]],"date-time":"2026-08-13T04:30:15Z","timestamp":1786595415715,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786406400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology for the Applied Basic and Frontier Research Project","award":["2019020701011464"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019020701011464"]}]},{"name":"Special Foundation for the National Science and Technology Basic Research Program of China","award":["2016YFD0200900"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2016YFD0200900"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Fund of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["31672317"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31672317"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Insects"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Arachnids evade predation by intentionally sacrificing body parts, with leg autotomy playing a crucial role in their survival and reproductive strategies. Our study primarily employed field surveys and laboratory experiments to examine the frequency of autotomy and its effects on predation and mating in Ebrechtella tricuspidata (Araneae: Thomisidae). Leg loss was common in wild populations, with approximately 17.11% of all surveyed spiders missing at least leg, the most frequently lost leg is one of the second pair of appendages, and the highest rate of autotomy occurs in July. Additionally, we found that some individuals exhibit regenerative capacity following autotomy. We focused on the effects of leg autotomy on E. tricuspidata in two contexts: predation and mating. In laboratory conditions, the loss of two legs significantly impacted the individual\u2019s predatory efficiency. Additionally, individuals missing two legs exhibited significantly poorer mating performance than intact individuals. We suggest that E. tricuspidata may employ a synergistic strategy of \u201cautotomy-regeneration\u201d to mitigate survival risks, thereby reducing the negative impacts of leg loss on predation and mating.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/insects17080833","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T09:11:16Z","timestamp":1786439476000},"page":"833","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Leg Autotomy and Regeneration in Crab Spiders Ebrechtella tricuspidata (Araneae: Thomisidae)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Xueqing","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Arachnid Resource Centre of Hubei & Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xuanda","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Arachnid Resource Centre of Hubei & Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhen","family":"Gong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xiangyang Plant Protection Station, Xiangyang 441021, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1454-0799","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yu","family":"Peng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Arachnid Resource Centre of Hubei & Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"619","DOI":"10.1139\/z90-092","article-title":"Behavioral decisions made under the risk of predation: A review and prospectus","volume":"68","author":"Dill","year":"1990","journal-title":"Can. 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