Most species of spiders are solitary
predators. Yet around two percent of spider species have evolved to live in
social groups with extensive maternal care or complex cooperative colonies of
hundreds of thousands of spiders.
In this online event, Linda Rayor of the CALS Department of
Entomology discusses the social lives of spiders, in particular the
social huntsman spiders, which live a dramatic life of cooperation and conflict.
What do these social spiders get out of living with tens to hundreds of their
closest of kin?Dr. Rayor discusses her research on large, gorgeous
social huntsman spiders and different aspects of the behavior of spiders.