Time-related Decay of Prey Antigens Ingested by Arboreal Spiders as Detected by ELISA

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Abstract
To investigate the rate of degradation of Orgyia pseudotsugata antigens in potential arachnid predators, individual arboreal spiders were fed a single first- or secondinstar Orgyia larva. A subset of these spiders were fed either one, two, or three alternate larvae ( Tribolium spp.) subsequent to Orgyia consumption. Of the spiders which had a dead, apparently consumed larva in the cage, 75% were confirmed as having ingested Orgyia antigens by ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The same proportion of spiders was positive after being held for 12 days at 24°C. Spiders fed one or two alternate larvae and held 5 or 7 days after feeding closely matched the ELISA response of spiders not fed alternate larvae. Half of the spiders fed one Orgyia followed by three alternate larvae retained reactivity in ELISA over a 10-day period.