This spider pretends to be an ant, but not well enough to avoid being eaten
Siler collingwoodi is a colorful, ant-mimicking spider found in China and Japan. Hua Zeng If Spiderman and Antman took their DNA and mixed it together in a petri dish, the result might be something like the spider species Siler collingwoodi (S. collingwoodi). This tiny, colorful, jumping spider found in China and Japan uses a combination of camouflage and some award-worthy mimicry to deter some hungry predators. In a stressful scenario, these spiders will imitate the way an ant walks to avoid being eaten. [Related: Black widows battle their even deadlier cousins in a brutal spider war.] A study published May 17 in the journal iScience found that the combo of camouflage and ant mimicry works to evade spiders that eat other spiders, but not hungry praying mantises. It’s advantageous to mimic an ant...