Mimics are under selection from a community of predators possessing different perception abilities and modes of prey capture, yet the efficacy of Batesian/Müllerian mimicry in a mimetic complex has typically been tested using a single predator. The males of Eresus spiders appear to mimic black-and-red coloured insects, and in particular ladybird beetles. Here, we tested the hypothesis of defensive mimicry in this species using three co-occurring visually oriented predators: mantids, lizards, and birds, possessing different visual ability (di- and tetra-chromatic vision). We compared two salient traits (movement and colouration) of Eresus males and three putative co-mimics (Coccinella septempunctata, Graphosoma italicum, Pyrrhocoris apterus). We found that Eresus spiders are far more mobile than the co-mimics and this could make them unprofitable due to efficient evasion. According to visual models, all three predators should not be able to distinguish the coloration of Eresus from that of two co-mimics. The natural diet of the green lizard revealed that lizards captured on average Eresus spiders as frequently as co-mimics. In predation trials, mantises captured Eresus males at greater latency but with similar frequency as co-mimics. In the predation experiment, both hand-reared and wild-caught great tits captured Eresus males far more frequently than Coccinella beetles. Eresus males were palatable to all three predators consistent with Batesian form of mimicry but when considering evasion abilities, they could be classified as quasi-Batesian mimics.

The dataset includes four sheets. The first one contains reflectance measurements, the second one contains measurements of movement characteristics, the third one is a poo-content analysis of lizards, and the last one is experiment with mantises.