Behavior and Ethology Commons^™

Ogre-Faced, Net-Casting Spiders Use Auditory Cues To Detect Airborne Prey, Jay A. Stafstrom, Gil Menda, Eya I. Nitzany, Eileen A. Hebets, Ronald R. Hoy

Eileen Hebets Publications

Prey-capture behavior among spiders varies greatly from passive entrapment in webs to running down prey items on foot. Somewhere in the middle are the ogre-faced, net-casting spiders (Deinopidae: Deinopis) that actively capture prey while being suspended within a frame web. Using a net held between their front four legs, these spiders lunge downward to ensnare prey from off the ground beneath them. This “forward strike” is sensorially mediated by a massive pair of hypersensitive, night-vision eyes. Deinopids can also intercept flying insects with a “backward strike,” a ballistically rapid, overhead back-twist, that seems not to rely on visual cues. Past …