A species of wolf spider called Schizocosa stridulans uses rhythmic beats with its front paws to win over females. The more complex the rhythm, the greater the chance of success. The information comes from a study published in the scientific journal Biology Letters.
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According to the scientific article, the movement consists of flexing the appendix and swinging the abdomen, which causes not only vibrations, but also important visual signals when choosing a female. However, biologists at the University of Nebraska still cannot explain exactly why females are more likely to accept males with more complex displays.
To arrive at this discovery, the researchers filmed encounters between wolf spiders on strips of filter paper, which allowed them to record the animals’ delicate vibrations. The female spider was the first to be placed on the platform, and in the time she was alone, she wove a pheromone-laden cord, an indication that she was open to mating:
In 44 mating tests, the researchers found that male wolf spiders copulated more and faster if they produced complex signals during that encounter. “Many animals communicate with complex displays consisting of multiple signals across sensory modalities,” the study concludes.
spiders and vibrations
It is no longer a secret for science that the spider is an animal very connected to vibrations. To get an idea, previously, a team from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) studied the structure of a web and its vibrations and decided to turn everything into music. Scientists and musicians then came together to create an immersive performance called Spider’s Canvas, applying different frequencies of sound to specific lengths of web fibers.
In another paper, a team of scientists helped shed light on how the spider uses webs to capture sounds, providing warning of prey or predators in the surroundings.