According to a paper published in the latest issue of Ecology and Evolution, biologists in Madagascar accidentally discovered that hunter spiders weave traps from leaves to hunt small frogs that have strayed into traps. This is the second time in Madagascar that vertebrates have been reported to be preyed upon by spiders.
Dominique Martin (left) of the University of Göttingen in Germany with a Madagascar biologist.
According to reports, Dominique Martin of the University of Göttingen in Germany, along with Madagascar biologist thio rosin fulgence and others, inspected birds in the village of Ampodiala in The Marogeggi National Park in the northeastern part of the island nation, and accidentally found a hunter spider stitching two leaves together with spider silk, leaving an opening, which became the hunter spider's dinner when an unsuspecting little frog entered it to hide.
A hunter spider stitches two leaves together with spider silk, leaving an opening to trap small tree frogs.
The researchers used their phones to take a snapshot of the 1.5-centimeter-long hunter spider hunting the locally endemic small tree frog.
The researchers said they found three other spiders in other villages, and they had similar "traps."
Martin said there are many small frogs in the area, and the spider's leaf "trap" could mean "systematic trapping." Biologists believe that most species of hunter spiders feed primarily on insects and only occasionally devour frogs, but given the current evidence, frogs may make up a large portion of the spider's diet.
The Hunter Spider family includes some of the world's largest spider types, such as the giant Hunter Spider (heteropoda maxima), which can reach a full foot in leg span.
The Hunter Spider family includes some of the world's largest spider types, such as the giant Hunter Spider (heteropoda maxima), whose legs can reach a full foot. Most hunter spiders do not form webs to catch prey, but run at a speed of 3 feet per second to forage for food.
Text/Nandu reporter Chen Lin