Spiders Tune and Pluck Webs Like a Musical Instrument to Locate Their Prey

According to Oxford University’s Silk Group research team, spiders are able to to fine tune their webs, in order to locate where prey have landed. The arachnids have sensors on their legs capable of detecting specific vibrations that help them pinpoint the spot where an insect is struggling to free itself.

The spider “reads” these vibrations to, for example, locate where a struggling insect has been snagged. And apparently the web has to be tuned just right to provide that kind of arachnidian triangulation.

The spiders spend time fine tuning the different strands for easier detection and will even pluck them, in order to locate prey once it has stopped moving.