Spiders have lived near people for a long time. We didn’t know much about how they smell, but new research has found the answer. Male spiders have olfactory hairs on their legs to detect female spider pheromones.
In a study in a science journal, we discovered these special hairs and mapped them. This helps us learn more about how spiders smell things.
Even though spiders are known for their vibration sense and vision, we knew little about their sense of smell. Our study solved two big questions about how spiders detect odors without antennae.
We found wall-pore sensilla on male spiders’ legs that help them smell pheromones. Adult male spiders use these sensilla to find mates. They are sensitive to even tiny amounts of pheromones.
Studies on other spider species show that these sensilla are common in males. This research opens the door to learning more about how spiders use their sense of smell.
By Dan-Dan Zhang, Researcher of Sensory Biology, Lund University
This article was originally published on The Conversation website.
Vocabulary List:
- Olfactory /ɒlˈfæk.tər.i/ (adjective): Relating to the sense of smell.
- Pheromones /ˌfer.əˈmoʊn/ (noun): Chemical substances produced and released into the environment by an animal affecting the behavior or physiology of others of the same species.
- Sensilla /senˈsi.lə/ (noun): Small sensory structures on an animal or insect.
- Vibration /vaɪˈbreɪ.ʃən/ (noun): A rapid linear motion back and forth or up and down.
- Species /ˈspiː.ʃiːz/ (noun): A group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding.
- Detect /dɪˈtɛkt/ (verb): To discover or identify the presence or existence of something.
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