`I tested the role of the previous substrate in hunting-patch choice using
a sit-and-wait predator, the crab spider Misumena vatia. Adult females that
hunted on Rowers of common milkweed Asclepias syriaca and pasture rose Ros
a carolina differed in their subsequent choices of these substrates as a co
nsequence of both the species of flower encountered and their recent experi
ence with these flowers. In six-hour tests, individuals taken from both mil
kweed and rose Rowers and later returned to the same species of Bower remai
ned and hunted on these sites in similar frequencies. However, spiders from
milkweed placed on rose remained significantly less frequently than spider
s from rose placed on milkweed or spiders returned to their accustomed flow
er species. A higher proportion of individuals that left their sites did so
more quickly from accustomed than from unfamiliar flower species. Capture
of prey increased the probability that a spider would remain during the tes
t period, but even spiders not capturing prey showed the trends noted above
. These results demonstrate that immediately previous experiences can modif
y patch-choice behavior in ways that significantly affect the foraging succ
ess of an individual, with important consequences for lifetime fitness.