Nature has taken another scary turn, scientists have found. One type of spider has been found to lure in its prey by forcing fireflies to flash.
So-called orb spiders trap fireflies which use different types of “flashes” to attract each other. Fireflies, boffins said, make “multi-pulse flashes with two lanterns” on their abdomen in order to attract females. Females make one-pulse flashes to do the same to attract males.
The cunning orb spider has been found to trap male fireflies in its web, where the fly flashes and attracts even more male fireflies. Study authors said: “An orb-weaving spider (Araneus ventricosus) manipulates the flashing signals of male fireflies ensnared in its web such that they mimic the typical flashes of a female firefly, thereby luring other males to serve as their next meal.”
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The researchers added: “The outcome is that the entrapped male fireflies broadcast false signals that lure more male fireflies into the web.”
To add to the chilling killing method, scientists actually propose that it is the spiders that change the firefly signals. The boffins are not yet sure what changes the fireflies’ flashing pattern and if it is caused by the spider’s venomous bite, but said more studies are needed to work it out
“Upon detecting the bioluminescent signals of ensnared male fireflies, the spider deploys a specialised prey-handling procedure involving repeated wrap-bite attacks,” researchers wrote.
A number of types of orb-weaving spiders can be found in the UK including some that are venomous. Types include the cave spider, tiny critters that are less than two centimetres across.
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The behaviour was first noticed by the first author of the new study, Xinhua Fu. From Huazhong Agricultural University in China, he noticed male fireflies trapped in the webs of orb-weaving spiders. He also spotted that female fireflies were rarely trapped in the webs.
Science Daily reported: “This led Fu to suspect that the spiders might be attracting males to their webs by somehow manipulating their flashing behaviour. To test this hypothesis, behavioural ecologists Daiqin Li and Shichang Zhang from Hubei University, along with Fu, conducted field experiments that allowed them to observe both the spider’s behaviour and the fireflies’ signals.
“Their studies showed that the spider’s web more often captured male fireflies when the spider was present in comparison to when the spider was absent from the web.”
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