Study finds spiders hijack living fireflies to lure prey

UNDATED (WKRC) - Bad news everyone: spiders are smart. Scary smart.

A recent study found that spiders intentionally capture specific bugs in their webs to attract other creatures, including still-flashing fireflies.

Scientists already knew that spiders utilized captured prey as a way to lure other insects into its web, but a recent study from Current Biologyhas seemingly uncovered a more complicated, deliberate process.

The study was inspired by the known fact that orb-weaver spiders have a particular affinity for fireflies, which they seem to keep alive while stuck in their web so that they can attract more fireflies.

Fireflies often use their flashing bulbs as a way to attract a mate, with male fireflies flashing twice and female fireflies flashing once. What scientists did not understand, is why it seemed like the orb-weaver spider was only attracting male fireflies, when a captured male should have attracted a female.

Throughout the study the researchers noticed that the spiders somehow hijacked the fireflies bioluminescence, and would only have the male fireflies flash once, giving other passerby insects the illusion of a web full of female fireflies.

For now, the researchers aren't exactly sure how the spiders are biologically "hacking" the fireflies, but they are confident that it is an intentional action done for a bigger feast.

The scientists behind the study said the next steps would be to see if this behavior is replicated in other species of spiders, or perhaps other species of animals entirely.