A Spider’s Love Song: Spiders Use Sounds To Attract Mates

Scientists have revealed that music plays an important role in spiders' mating rituals. According to the report from The Telegraph, new research shows that spiders use leaves to create music for mating.

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati, Alexander Sweger and George Uetz, used a small recording studio that captures sounds made by the species Gladicosa glucosa, or “purring” wolf spiders when they were placed in different types of surfaces. The research, which was presented at the annual meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, revealed that the courting ritual of these spiders involved the creation of vibration with from surfaces, like a dead leaf, to create noise.

The scientists recorded sounds made by the male spiders. They encouraged male spiders to “purr” with the use of scents given off by females. They then recorded the sound and replayed it to the females, making sure that they only hear airborne sound and not the physical vibrations coming from males.

What the study found was that the mating ritual was only effective when both the sound and vibration were made and when spiders are placed on areas or surfaces that received vibrations easily. The study also showed vibrations produced from sounds transmitted through leaves were easily picked up by females.

According to Sweger, the vibrations coming from this species of wolf spider are related to other species of wolf spiders except that this one accompanies airborne sounds. This means that the male spiders can only create sounds when placed on a surface that easily vibrates and that female spiders can pick up these vibrations if they are on the same surface.

The researchers also observed that removing the vibration and only providing audio signals illicit a response from females, but males typically do not show any response. Sweger suggests that sounds created by males “play a part in communicating specifically with females,” he said in a report from The Telegraph.

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