Predators can affect plant reproductive success due to their indirect effects on pollinators. Previous work has found that predators influence pollinators by reducing their visitation duration as well as total number of visits. Additionally, when predators are present pollinators spend more time inspecting flowers for safety, rather than collecting resources. In 2020, we set up a common garden experiment with 40 1m2 plots, each containing the same 10 native plant species. Within these plots, we manipulated the density of a common but under-studied predator, the green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) from zero to four individuals to study how spider density affected pollinator behavior (the presence of inspection behavior, the length of floral visits, and the distance between visited flowers and the nearest predator). The predator manipulations mostly worked well, except that P. virdians moved away from the plots with the highest level of predator density, especially later in the year when P. viridans individuals were larger. We found that effects of P. viridans on pollinator behavior was affected by a complex series of factors. First, changes in behavior depended on pollinator species identity, P. viridans density, and the plant species that the pollinator was visiting. Second, these effects shifted over time as humidity and temperature changed, P. viridans individuals increased in size, and new plant species began flowering. These early results build on previous work by emphasizing the importance of considering predator life cycles, including changes in predator hunting location (i.e. different plant species) over time.
