“I Once Witnessed a Spider Controlling a Motion-Activated Flood Light to Catch Prey.”, 2024-06-18 ():
I once witnessed a spider controlling a motion activated flood light to catch prey.
At first I assumed the flood light in my backyard was just being triggered by the wind, as a spider had built a web in front of the sensor, however I then noticed that the light would turn on even when there wasn’t any wind. Upon closer inspection, I found that the spider had created a singular strand of webbing, thicker than the rest (5×–10×), directly over the front of the sensor. It would then pluck this thicker strand whenever it wanted the light to turn on.
I had previously read a few papers on spider intelligence, specifically the planning capabilities of certain species, but this seemed like another level. Not only had it discovered the sensor, it crafted a tool to use it for its own advantage.