Thread by @MetroUK

As if spiders weren’t already terrifying enough, researchers have observed one species is capable of HUNTING IN PACKS OF HUNDREDS 😱

Let's dive into it shall we, if you dare... 🕷

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According to a new study, the Anelosimus eximius - a species of spider native to South America - can reportedly move 'in unison' and coordinate their attacks on prey.

French researchers found these spiders take down their prey in packs using specialised web vibrations.

The spiders live in large towering non-stick webs and can suddenly swarm over insects that fall into them.

They collectively do this using a two-pronged attack, moving as one and then staying still to perceive vibrations coming through the web.

The researchers used a dead fly connected to a vibration generator, brought into contact with a web, to trigger the collective spider hunting behaviour.

'When the prey falls in the web, this triggers the movement of the spiders. But after a while, they all stop for a few milliseconds before they start moving again.'

Social spiders are notable for living together in colonies, cooperating on prey capture, sharing parental duties and rarely straying from their nests.

Among the 50,000 known spider species, about 20 have developed a permanent social life characterised by such social cooperation.

The eximius species may be one of only two that hunt 'in packs', helping them catch insects including moths and grasshoppers.

Their colonies can house several thousand individuals of all ages, co-existing peacefully in gigantic webs that often reach several cubic metres.

'Nests are typically composed of a horizontal basket-shaped silken sheet and a network of vertical threads, connected to the vegetation, used to intercept flying prey.'

It’s already known that the spiders cooperate when capturing insects trapped on the web using coordinated movements.

By combining fieldwork and modelling, researchers identified the actions involved in the synchronisation of these movements.

Interestingly, and something that comes as a slight relief, the more social spiders are, the smaller they tend to be, so you’re unlikely to find gigantic spiders hunting in packs. Thank goodness!

Read the full, slightly terrifying story below 👇

trib.al/wWi0qRP