Spiders keep fireflies as glowing prisoners that draw more prey to their webs

Nocturnal spiders have been filmed capturing fireflies and keeping them in their webs to attract more prey, even intermittently checking on them over the course of an hour.

- WORDS HANNAH OSBORNE

When fireflies were kept on the webs, sheet-web spiders attracted significantly more prey than without the bioluminescent beetles, leading researchers to think that the spiders are purposefully using the fireflies as bait to increase hunting success. “Our findings highlight a previously undocumented interaction where firefly signals, intended for sexual communication, are also beneficial to spiders,” said I-Min Tso, a researcher at Tunghai University who studies spider behaviour. “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,” Tso added.