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Three species of extremely primitive spider discovered in China

6 April 2023

Mesothelean spiders diverged from all other spiders long before the first dinosaurs – three species of these living fossils have just been identified in western Hunan province


Brown widow spiders are killing off black widows in the southern US

13 March 2023

Black widow spiders are waning in the southern US and brown widows may be the culprit – in lab tests, they were more than six times as likely to kill southern black widows than other arachnids they were offered


Black Widow Spider; Shutterstock ID 617417108; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Black widow spiders remember their prey if it is stolen

12 October 2022

When researchers take away a black widow’s prey, the spider can remember how large the prey was and where it was in the web, and it will search harder for larger missing grubs


Ant-slayer spider attacking an ant

Ant-slayer spider catches prey with acrobatic leap to wrap it in silk

19 September 2022

High-speed cameras have revealed the extraordinary hunting technique of the Australian ant-slayer spider, which is highly successful and thought to be unique


Watch male orb-weaving spiders catapult off females to escape death

Watch male orb-weaving spiders catapult off females to escape death

25 April 2022

For the first time, spiders have been observed escaping sexual cannibalism by flinging themselves away from females, reaching speeds of up to 88.2 centimetres per second


Catapulting spiders avoid being cannibalized by their mates

Spider avoids being eaten after sex by launching itself away at 88cm/s

25 April 2022

Male orb-weaving spiders take a life-saving approach when it comes to reproduction


Some spider species hunt in packs, moving as one to catch their prey

Social spiders synchronise to catch prey hundreds of times their size

7 March 2022

Some spider species that live in groups of thousands on enormous webs synchronise their movements to catch insects up to 700 times heavier than an individual spider


female of Bridge spider or Gray cross spider (Larinioides sclopetarius) classic spider along seaside as city harbour, and they are often found on bridges; Shutterstock ID 2035737131; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Spider webs may act as most sensitive ‘ears’ in known natural world

11 February 2022

The bridge spider (Larinioides sclopetarius) uses its web to detect the sounds made by insects flying nearby and prepare itself for a potential meal


Nursery web spider

Nursery web spiders woo mates with food wrapped in chemical-laced silk

3 November 2021

Chemicals in the silk of male nursery web spiders help them attract a mate when used as gift wrap


spiders trapped in amber

Ancient spiders locked in amber died looking after their offspring

14 September 2021

Modern spiders are known to be devoted parents, and ancient spiders trapped in 99-million-year-old amber seem to have cared for their young too


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