War of the Spiders
Like 2 Dislike 0 Published on 8 Jul 2016
This is very possibly the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed, let alone recorded. For the last two years a False Widow (Steatoda nobilis) has been living in a shed which also houses Rafter Spiders, aka Long-bodied Cellar Spiders (Pholcus phalangioides). Whereas the False Widow is a solitary species, Rafter Spiders will not only live in communal webs but if a mother spider dies another female will take care of her eggs. There is even some evidence they hunt in packs. Both species will actively hunt other spider species and sometimes even engage in acts of cannibalism, nothing our human species doesn't do occasionally. Anyhow, somehow the False Widow caught a Rafter Spider, and immediately the other Rafter Spiders launched a rescue attempt, and tried to kill the False Widow. In the end the Widow was driven from her web. Watch and be amazed.