Ogre-faced spiders catch insects out of the air

Some spiders wait for prey to come and tickle their web. But the ogre-faced spider (Deinopis spinosa) uses its sense of hearing to take its web to the prey.

Hanging upside down, the spider weaves a rectangular web between its legs. When an insect flies behind the dangling arachnid, the spider swings backward, casting the web toward the prey.

This behind-the-back hunting technique is one clue that the spiders can hear an unexpectedly wide range of sounds, researchers report online October 29 in Current Biology.

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J. STAFSTROM

Ogre-faced spiders use their massive eyes to spot prey scurrying on the ground, but for airborne prey, the arachnids use sound-sensitive organs on their legs.

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See how an ogre-faced spider catches prey in midair

Slow motion video shows how the ogre-faced, net-casting spider catches its prey at night.