Study finds spiders hijack living fireflies to lure prey
(Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images)
UNDATED (WKRC) – Bad news everyone: spiders are smart. Scary smart.
A recent study found that spiders intentionally capture specific bugs in their webs to attract other creatures, including still-flashing fireflies.
Scientists already knew that spiders utilized captured prey as a way to lure other insects into its web, but a recent study from Current Biologyhas seemingly uncovered a more complicated, deliberate process.
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The study was inspired by the known fact that orb-weaver spiders have a particular affinity for fireflies, which they seem to keep alive while stuck in their web so that they can attract more fireflies.
Fireflies often use their flashing bulbs as a way to attract a mate, with male fireflies flashing twice and female fireflies flashing once. What scientists did not understand, is why it seemed like the orb-weaver spider was only attracting male fireflies, when a captured male should have attracted a female.
Throughout the study the researchers noticed that the spiders somehow hijacked the fireflies bioluminescence, and would only have the male fireflies flash once, giving other passerby insects the illusion of a web full of female fireflies.
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