Brutal. At some point the grasshopper starts to look like a gazelle, being held by lions. Mister Edmund, thank you very much for this excellent video. Please, if you know the answers, explain the following : - from 1:20 onwards, the spider on top, left, appears to be scratching itself. Is it really, or is it some sort of communication, stridulation ? Do these social spiders communicate, how so and what do they say ? - why do the spiders hold the grasshopper for so long ? Are they waiting for other spiders to come over ? Are these spiders competitive about their food or do they truly share ? Again : thank you, good evening.
Dear Sébastien, thank you, I am glad you enjoy this video which I agree is fascinating to watch. Stridulation is the production of sound by rubbing together body parts and I don't think these spider do that. However, like all spiders they do sense vibrations on the web, using organs known as slit sensilla on the legs. Because a spider has 8 legs it can sense precisely where prey is located as it struggles. For these social spiders, they can probably also sense where other spiders are located, to help coordinate their collective predation, and thus also use vibrations to communicate their positions. My impression of the spider at the top left is that it is producing silk. The spiders usually subdue the prey (a cricket here) by pinning down one leg each. They indeed wait for others to join in to make sure it is fully secured. It is an interesting question about how competitive they are over the food - there is a tradeoff of risk & reward to be the first spider to feed on the prey because they might get hurt. It is probably decided by how hungry they are, with the hungrier ones going first. Usually multiple spiders feed on a single prey item - going first might make a spider more likely to get a full meal. Participating in prey capture makes a spider more likely to gain weight - here is a paper to start you off if you would like to read more. We are interested in the difference between 'bold' and 'shy' individuals, the bold ones more likely to take risks academic.oup.com/cz/article/63/5/561/3002610
Thank you for your prompt, very satisfying reply. Indeed it is a subject that fascinates me, as well as everyone, I believe - although I don't believe I'll ever completely get over my aracnophobia, yet watching spiders be social seems to make them even less frightening, more dog-like. I wish you an excellent year, kind regards.
spotted that too. these spiders are cribellates ( and use the cribellum, a silk spinning organ, not a usual spinneret, and their calamistrum, a comb-like structure on one of the hind legs to comb out non-sticky, wool-like silk) that is what this spider is doing.
Hi Karrissen, these spiders were collected from a field site in South Africa, with the relevant permissions, I don't know about buying them commercially.
See section 2 of the paper here rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/285/1886/20181366?casa_token=Dzh0MTApXYYAAAAA%3ALlaqShT3SEkKjH3L397pHx8yBwHWerw0fYB0Qz1JI4hWyZgFlETXlgCpurvBmVUg3JAiez64X7hG "Groups were housed in large round containers (11 cm diameter, 10 cm depth) with a vertical wire mesh (a 5 × 5 cm sheet) to allow the spiders to build both a retreat and a capture web."
Brutal. At some point the grasshopper starts to look like a gazelle, being held by lions.
Mister Edmund, thank you very much for this excellent video. Please, if you know the answers, explain the following :
- from 1:20 onwards, the spider on top, left, appears to be scratching itself. Is it really, or is it some sort of communication, stridulation ? Do these social spiders communicate, how so and what do they say ?
- why do the spiders hold the grasshopper for so long ? Are they waiting for other spiders to come over ? Are these spiders competitive about their food or do they truly share ?
Again : thank you, good evening.
Dear Sébastien, thank you, I am glad you enjoy this video which I agree is fascinating to watch. Stridulation is the production of sound by rubbing together body parts and I don't think these spider do that. However, like all spiders they do sense vibrations on the web, using organs known as slit sensilla on the legs. Because a spider has 8 legs it can sense precisely where prey is located as it struggles. For these social spiders, they can probably also sense where other spiders are located, to help coordinate their collective predation, and thus also use vibrations to communicate their positions. My impression of the spider at the top left is that it is producing silk. The spiders usually subdue the prey (a cricket here) by pinning down one leg each. They indeed wait for others to join in to make sure it is fully secured. It is an interesting question about how competitive they are over the food - there is a tradeoff of risk & reward to be the first spider to feed on the prey because they might get hurt. It is probably decided by how hungry they are, with the hungrier ones going first. Usually multiple spiders feed on a single prey item - going first might make a spider more likely to get a full meal. Participating in prey capture makes a spider more likely to gain weight - here is a paper to start you off if you would like to read more. We are interested in the difference between 'bold' and 'shy' individuals, the bold ones more likely to take risks academic.oup.com/cz/article/63/5/561/3002610
Thank you for your prompt, very satisfying reply. Indeed it is a subject that fascinates me, as well as everyone, I believe - although I don't believe I'll ever completely get over my aracnophobia, yet watching spiders be social seems to make them even less frightening, more dog-like. I wish you an excellent year,
kind regards.
spotted that too. these spiders are cribellates ( and use the cribellum, a silk spinning organ, not a usual spinneret, and their calamistrum, a comb-like structure on one of the hind legs to comb out non-sticky, wool-like silk) that is what this spider is doing.
Hi would I be able to use this video with credit in a video I'm making on social spiders?
Yes, thanks for asking
@@huntlab awesome thanks!
Where's the rest of the video? Missing the best parts to this :/ Weak!
Beautiful... and scary
That's so cool, I've been looking for this species so long, do you know where I could buy them? ❤️
Hi Karrissen, these spiders were collected from a field site in South Africa, with the relevant permissions, I don't know about buying them commercially.
Edmund Hunt
Too bad... But thank you very much for your fast answer! 😊
@@Karrissen are you still looking or have u still been looking for some?
@@hxcvideogamer Still looking - seems completly impossible to get some in Germany... :(
@@hxcvideogamer
Any idea? Or looking for them too?
i wonder if this animal is new. This look very effective. Power in number. Each spider grabbing a leg .
How big is this setup?
See section 2 of the paper here rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/285/1886/20181366?casa_token=Dzh0MTApXYYAAAAA%3ALlaqShT3SEkKjH3L397pHx8yBwHWerw0fYB0Qz1JI4hWyZgFlETXlgCpurvBmVUg3JAiez64X7hG
"Groups were housed in large round containers (11 cm diameter, 10 cm depth) with a vertical wire mesh (a 5 × 5 cm sheet) to allow the spiders to build both a retreat and a capture web."