They live collectively in web systems and thrive in both dry and wet climates.

[1] P. bistriata is widely spread across South America, where the climate is relatively warm and humid, including Argentina.

Therefore, it offers excellent flexibility to study food shortage stresses on this species.

Based on field observations, P. bistriata will encounter food shortages during dry seasons.

[2] Upon maturation, members will mate and disperse, laying eggs away from the original colony location.

[2] During the field study in Argentina, group feeding is observed in most dry sites (83%).

[1] However, this number significantly decreased to 31% in wet areas, showing that this species tends to engage in group feeding when food is in scarcity.

[1] Also, when the prey size is large, P. bistriata tends to engage in group feeding.

[3] Juvenile spiders can gain resource advantage by working in groups, reducing individual silk usage.

When conflict arises between individuals for food resources, larger body size usually guarantees victory.

There are many variables at play in a colony living environment, such as resource availability, the number of intruders, and the recurring interactions between individuals.

Furthermore, when webs are close to each other, and vibrations can be efficiently conducted, both cooperative and antagonistic behaviors are more frequently observed.

[2] The group living nature of P. bistriata makes it a potential candidate for population genetics studies.

[1] However, the lack of plasticity for individuals from resource-rich habitats suggests that this adaptation to the environment is due to genomic imprinting.

[1] Then individual orb-web will be attached to the scaffolding and form an effective system to trap preys.

[1] Once finishing foraging, P. bistriata will consume their webs, but not the scaffolding silk, and then they will return to their bivouac.

[1] Attempts to keep them in laboratory observation fail because the colony will immediately scatter when disturbed.

[1] A female needs to gain a sufficient body mass before dispersion, while males are still present in the colony for successful reproduction.

[5] The compounds purified from spider venoms are not only valuable for clinical treatment development but also offer potential methods to study ion channels in mammalian neuron cells.

[6] These toxins are highly specific, so it is possible to target only one ion channel type without effects on others.