Argyrodes flavescens invade webs of Nephila. Here is Nephila pilipes chasing prey
Captured
Having dinner
More dinner
Fishished
Then home to the hunting position
Her ventral side
Lurking in the Nephila web are several Argyrodes flavescens - here is one manipulating a couple of circumferential strands - probably to harvest the glue drops. Note that she has linked to the two left circumferential strands forming a triangle. Amazingly intelligent behavior - how is this programmed?
Argyrodes
Here are the two strands that she appears to be linking to another strand
More of the acrobatics of linking strands and subsequent harvesting
Here it appears she is pulling strands from the right to join the other strands
And here pulling the bundle to the left
A rare look at the drag line silk from the Argyrodes
Meanwhile in another sector of the web - this little one appears tangled in a maze of silk
Sort of consolidating
More acrobatics
Stretching exercises
Here she is stealing a fly, put up for storage by the hostess Nephila
In this sequence you can see her pull strands, gathering up slack silk on the left and consolidating it for glue harvesting, I suppose
A better view of the glue drops on a strand and slack silk held by her 1st left leg (while the 2nd left leg holds the strand with glue
THere the glue drop strand is hanging slightly as she pulls on the upper left strand - and at the same time, pulls toward herslef the slack strand
Here she is manipulating the glue drop strand
Apparently attaching it to the slack clump of silk
Here the left-most strand is now tight as is the stand just above it
Now she appears to be manipulating the clump of loose silk
And she continues consolidating and tensioning strands
Here is similar exercise
Next step
Manipulating slack strands
Here connecting and tensioning the strands
Two Argyrodes
A grasshopper - face
From the side
C. Frank Starmer