Nest site choice by the intertidal spider Desis formidabilis (Araneae: Desidae) and nest utilisation by its hymenopteran egg parasitoid

1. Echthrodesis lamorali Masner, 1968 is the only known parasitoid of the eggs of the intertidal rocky shore spider Desis formidabilis O.P. Cambridge 1890 and is endemic to a small area of South Africa.

2. The abundance of spider nests and parasitoid presence were assessed in relation to their in- and between-shore location at multiple sites within the distribution of E. lamorali along the Cape Peninsula (Western Cape, South Africa).

3. Desis formidabilis nests were more abundant in the mid-shore zone than higher up or lower down the shore. Spider population sizes also differed between collection sites, with higher numbers recorded on the cooler western coast of the peninsula.

4. Evidence of parasitoid activity was recorded in 43.31% of the 127 nests and 13.85% of the 592 egg sacs they contained. 5. Where parasitoids gained entry to a spider egg sac, oviposition took place into all of the eggs present.

6. Incidence of wasp activity was positively correlated with spider nest concentration, not with height up the shore, suggesting that both the host and parasitoid are tolerant of salt-water inundation.

7. These results should assist managers of the Table Mountain National Park, in which the full distribution of E. lamorali falls, to better understand this component of rocky shore community dynamics.