Tunghai University researchers observed Psechrus Clavis a sheet web spider capturing fireflies using their bioluminescent light to catch prey. The spiders also went back from time to time to check on the captured fireflies.
Researchers set up a test using LED lights resembling fireflies to see if the newly found strategy increased spider hunting success.
The findings published in the Journal of Animal Ecology have found that three times the amount of prey was attracted to webs with LED webs and the LED webs grabbed 10 times more fireflies than the non-LED webs.
"Our findings highlight a previously undocumented interaction where firefly signals, intended for sexual communication, are also beneficial to spiders. This study sheds new light on the ways that nocturnal sit-and-wait predators can rise to the challenges of attracting prey and provides a unique perspective on the complexity of predator-prey interactions," said Dr. I-Min Tso, the lead author of the study.
The researchers think the spiders have developed their own bioluminescence as sheet web spiders normally wait for prey in the dark.
"Handling prey in different ways suggests that the spider can use some kind of cue to distinguish between the prey species they capture and determine an appropriate response," Tso said. "We speculate that it is probably the bioluminescent signals of the fireflies that are used to identify fireflies enabling spiders to adjust their prey handling behavior accordingly."
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