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The New York Times — World — Animals — Spiders — Animal Behavior — Research

Eight-Legged Candy-Striper Killers Prowl Before the Sun Rises

New research reveals two species of candy-striped spider have secret night lives, poaching prey from the webs of neighboring spiders and ballooning and rappelling between insect bedrooms.

1 min read
  • Two species of candy-striped spider have secret night lives, leaving their cobwebs to carry out violent predation after dark.
  • Candy-stripers were also known thieves, poaching prey from the webs of neighboring spiders.
  • Candy-stripers were observed ballooning and rappelling between insect bedrooms, surreptitiously securing sleeping targets with sticky silk.
  • Candy-stripers are not choosy about what they eat, preying on about 250 species, mainly bees and wasps.
  • It took almost 100 years before anyone reported the remarkable marauding behavior of these extremely common species.
Eight-Legged Candy-Striper Killers Prowl Before the Sun Rises
A study of candy-striped spiders feasting on sleeping insects suggests there are many surprising arachnid behaviors still waiting to be discovered.
The New York TimesBy Lesley Evans Ogde

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