- Deceptive Web: Spider Employs Prey for Attracting More Prey
A specific spider species, as revealed by a study in "Current Biology", utilizes the flickering lights of trapped male fireflies, resembling female firefly signals, to draw in even more male fireflies.
Fireflies use flash signals produced from transparent areas on their abdomens for communication. The species Abscondita terminalis has males producing multiple flashes with two transparent fields to attract females, while females emit a single flash with a single field to attract males.
More males in the web trap
Noticing a deficiency of female fireflies in the webs of the spider species Araneus ventricosus in nature, a team of scientists, headed by Daiqin Li from Hubei University in Wuhan, decided to investigate further.
They detected that male Abscondita terminalis fireflies were more frequently ensnared in the web when the spider was present. Moreover, the signals of these trapped males bore a striking resemblance to those of females - they produced single-pulse signals from only one of the transparent areas.
Deception for a larger meal
The capture rate in such webs was noticeably higher, as per the study. The researchers hypothesized that the spiders intentionally modified the firefly signals. It remains unclear if the spider's venom or the bite itself causes the alterations in the flash pattern.
It's already known that spiders leave remains of previously caught prey in their webs as bait to attract more insects. The team headed by Daiqin Li speculated that there could be numerous other examples of predators manipulating their prey's behavior for their advantage.
Fireflies aren't actually flames
Intriguingly, the term "firefly" is misleading - they are actually beetles that do not generate heat when they emit light, contrary to their name. The light emission is a physical process akin to an LED's, but in fireflies, it's fuelled by chemical reactions instead of an electric current.
With their light, fireflies draw in partners. Some species have females as the only light emitters, while others have males joining in the glowing display.
The study in "Current Biology" revealed that the spider species Araneus ventricosus utilizes the deceptive single-pulse signals from trapped male fireflies, which resemble female signals, to draw in even more males, creating a mixed gathering of fireflies around its web trap.
This manipulation of firefly signals to lure in a larger prey population can be considered another example of predators intentionally altering their prey's behavior for their own benefit, as suggested by the team headed by Daiqin Li.
