Toss a piece of leaf onto a spiderweb. The spider is indifferent. Because leaves don't squirm like captured flies. But Australia's "assassin bug" _1_ spiders. It exploits their keen sense for vibrations by _2_—luring unwitting spiders into _3_.Researchers observed how spiders reacted to various visitors to their webs—like leaf fragments, courting males, prey like flies, and the assassin bugs. The spiders ignored leaves, and _4_. But they approached assassin bugs just as if they were investigating a juicy fly.Then the researchers analyzed the frequency, duration and amplitude of each visitor's vibrations. And they found that assassin bug's vibes most closely matched some of those of prey. When prey struggle violently, spiders _5_—a potentially dangerous situation for assassin bugs. The research is in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society assassin bug’s choice of vibrations maximizes the chances that the spider, while still behaving like the hunter, becomes the hunted.
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