A remarkable scientific discovery: A spider web robust enough to accommodate a bird's perch, a first in history.
In a surprising turn of events, a female cardinal was observed stealing insects from an invasive Joro spider's web on September 13, 2022. Arty Schronce, a naturalist and garden expert based in Atlanta, made the unusual discovery.
Cardinals are known for their exploratory behavior and are likely to eat almost anything. However, they are not small birds and are not typically known for foraging in a delicate manner or tightrope walking. The Joro spider, an invasive species accidentally introduced to the United States in 2014, is known for spinning large, tough webs and is large itself, with a leg-span as wide as an adult's hand.
This behavior, known as kleptoparasitism, is not common among cardinals. Daniel Baldassarre, a cardinal expert, has never seen a cardinal exhibit such behavior. In fact, there are no known documented observations before this incident of a cardinal actively sitting on a spider's web and stealing food directly from it.
The encounter between the cardinal and the Joro spider lasted only two minutes, but the spider and web remained undamaged the next day. After the spider was scared off, the cardinal consumed some insects caught in the web.
Interestingly, this is not the only instance of an animal exploiting the Joro spider's web. Andy Davis, an expert on Joro spiders at the University of Georgia, reported that the dewdrop spider, another native kleptoparasite, seems to be making the most of the situation by hanging out on Joro spider's webs and stealing their food. In all the Joro webs Davis has seen this fall, he has observed dewdropspiders on at least 30% of them.
Andy Davis reported this incident in a study published by the journal Insects, suggesting that this behavior might become more common as native birds start to exploit the potential benefits presented by the large Joro spiders and their webs. Davis wonders if more native birds might start to follow suit, further adding to the Joro spider's challenges in establishing itself in the United States ecosystem.
[1] Schronce, A. (2022). Personal observation. [2] Davis, A. (2022). Reported in a study published by the journal Insects. [3] Baldassarre, D. (2022). Personal communication. [4] Davis, A. (2022). Personal observation. [5] Unknown. (n.d.). No known documented accounts found in the available search data.
- The unexpected act of kleptoparasitism displayed by the female cardinal, stealing insects from a Joro spider's web, could potentially indicate shifts in earth's ecology as native birds might start to exploit the benefits presented by invasive species like the Joro spider.
- The evolution of fitness-and-exercise strategies for survival, as seen in the cardinal's unconventional foraging method, could be a interesting subject for further study in the field of health-and-wellness and science.
- The discovery of the dewdrop spider, another native kleptoparasite, take advantage of the Joro spider's web, raises questions about the long-term impact of invasive species on the earth's ecosystem and the adaptability of other species to cope with such changes.
