Spiders manipulate and exploit bioluminescent signals of fireflies

Abstract

Predators often search for prey while moving through the environment, but there are important exceptions, including the way sedentary predators sometimes rely on signals for drawing prey to within striking distance1,2. Some spiders, for instance, leave the remnants of previously-captured prey in their webs where they function as static lures that effectively attract a diverse array of additional prey3456. However, important questions remain concerning how specific the targeted prey may be and how dynamic, instead of static, signalling might be. With these questions as our rationale, we initiated research on Araneus ventricosus (L. Koch, 1878), an orb-weaving spider, as the predator and the firefly Abscondita terminalis males as the prey (Figure 1A–C). Using two lanterns situated on their abdomen (Figure 1D,F), A. terminalis males make female-attracting multi-pulse flash trains (Figure 1J), whereas sedentary females attract males by making single-pulse signals (Figure 1C,K) with a single lantern (Figure 1E,G). Drawing from extensive field observations, we propose that A. ventricosus practices deceptive interspecific communication by first ensnaring firefly males in its web and then predisposing the entrapped male fireflies to broadcast bioluminescent signals that deviate from female-attracting signals typically made by A. terminalis males and instead mimic the male-attracting signals typically made by females. The outcome is that the entrapped male fireflies broadcast false signals that lure more male fireflies into the web.