Encounter between the predator and the preys
Data in Table 2 and Figures 1a and 1b show the encounter
behavior of the predator, H. ephippiger nymph toward the prey
snails. Most observed encounters with snails ended in attacking
the preys before preying or avoiding it. The maximum number
of encounters (26.00 ± 1.70) was obtained with the small snail
followed by the medium snail (25.60 ± 1.20), whereas the
number of encounters recorded by the predator toward the large
snail was the lowest (19.40 ± 1.50). The encounter and also the
encounter rate (no./min) significantly differed (P < 0.05) when
the large snail was compared with the two other snail sizes. Also
a significant difference (P < 0.05) was obtained for the number
of attacks/encounters and the number of avoidances/encounters.
In contrast, no significant differences (P > 0.05) were obtained
for the prey consumed/encounter. Obtained preying rate was (0.22 ± 0.01), (0.20 ± 0.01) and (0.21 ± 0.01) considering small-
, medium- and large-size of the snail.