Facultatively-communal
Guides
Philoponella oweni
Philoponella oweni is a small cribellate orb-weaver spider (4.7–7.1 mm) found in arid regions of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The species exhibits facultative semi-social behavior, with females living either solitarily or in communal groups of 2–40 individuals depending on web-site availability and prey abundance. Despite communal living, individuals do not cooperate in prey capture, web construction, or brood care. Communal females benefit from higher feeding rates and greater egg production, but suffer increased parasitism by pteromalid wasps, resulting in equivalent net reproductive success between strategies.