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Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Cornell University have discovered how large female spiders in colonies are able to claim enough territory to rebuild their daily webs in the face of competition from other large spiders and smaller ones. The researchers assumed they would observe belligerent behavior every day as the spiders fought for space. Not so.
Instead they found that large spiders in colonies use the time-honored capitalist technique of getting to market first.
"I had anticipated that the spiders would wake up every morning and fight with each other to get to build in the safer core of the colony. Actually, nothing like that happens," says Linda S. Rayor, Cornell instructor in entomology. "Instead, the larger spiders compete for open spaces within the colony by building their webs earlier in the morning than other spiders. So the spiders pre-empt the space before anyone else can get there."
Today's WPC Daily photo was submitted by freelance photographer Damon Perrott.
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