ELI5
There was a couple of instances where a spider stopped in his track as soon as he notices me while an ant acts like I’m nothing else than an obstacle that can be climbed on.
Also, the bigger the spider is, the more cautious seems to be around people.
Is this a sign of various degrees of intelligence on insects or is it their natural predator nature that makes spiders to be more aware of their surroundings?
I’ve seen spiders stand still when I’m looking at them and start moving once my back is turned. I imagine they can see my eyes and recognise what they are for.
In: Biology
Spiders are predators which generally have better (or at least longer range/more detailed) eyesight than prey. Also, spiders are solo animals that have to keep themselves alive by finding food & assessing/reacting to threats, while it doesn’t matter if any given worker ant is stupid as long as the colony can react en masse in a way that helps the queen survive. Therefore, a spider is a lot more likely to notice and react to larger creatures, either as potential threats or as novelties.
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