The spider that plans its attack and hunts other spiders
This spider hunts other spiders, and it appears to plan the whole attack in advance.
Which one is REALLY true about the Portia Spider?
The short version
Portia is a jumping spider barely a centimetre long that preys on dangerous web-building spiders many times its size. It studies a web for up to an hour, plucks the silk experimentally until it finds a signal that lures the owner out, and will take long detours out of sight along routes that only make sense if planned ahead.
Why it's so weird
- ✓The Portia Spider is a jumping spider barely a centimetre long that hunts other spiders.
- ✓The Portia Spider goes after dangerous web-building spiders many times its own size.
- ✓The Portia Spider will study a target's web first, sometimes for over an hour.
- ✓The Portia Spider plucks at the silk to imitate a trapped insect, a mate, or just a breeze, experimenting until it finds the exact signal that draws the owner out.
- ✓The Portia Spider will climb a long winding detour completely out of sight of the web, along a route that only makes sense if it worked the whole path out beforehand.
You could line up about 122 of them along a 7-year-old!
The full story
This spider hunts other spiders, and it appears to plan the attack in advance. Meet Portia, a jumping spider barely a centimetre long, and probably the cleverest spider alive. It preys on dangerous web-building spiders many times its own size. First it will study the web, sometimes for over an hour. Then it plucks at the silk, imitating a trapped insect, or a mate, or just a breeze, experimenting until it finds the exact signal that draws the owner out. And if the direct route looks bad, Portia will take a detour instead, climbing away from the web and completely out of sight, along a winding path that only makes sense if it worked the whole route out beforehand. Follow for more weird animal facts.
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“The Portia Spider is a jumping spider barely a centimetre long that hunts other spiders.”
“The Portia Spider is not one animal but a colony of tiny cloned organisms called zooids, each built for a single job.”
“The Portia Spider goes after dangerous web-building spiders many times its own size.”