Extremely intelligent spider (pretty cool)

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Nick R

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Normally, I dislike (sometimes hate) spiders. But this one I find really cool. The Portia Jumping spider. Extremely intelligent.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10442051

http://www.theiff.org/press/laweekly03-06.html


"Portia Spiders


So you're lounging around in a freshly-built web one day--just chillin', hangin' out, all bein' a spider and [censored]--when you feel the telltale struggles of a delicious little victim. As you prepare to pump your squirming dinner with venom, something goes terribly awry; the "trapped" bug easily scurries out of view, and you feel a pair of tiny fangs sink right into your [censored].

O, irony!

Wait, is that irony or does that just suck? You don't know. You don't understand complicated English concepts; you're just a [censored] spider. Or at least you were.

Now you're dead.



You ran afoul of the Portia spider, and it's not really your fault that it totally kicked your [censored] at being a spider. See, the Portia displays more brainpower than was ever thought possible in an insect. Each individual Portia employs their own unique and vast arsenal of dastardly impersonations to trick, ensnare and consume their prey.

A Portia spider might strum a pattern on a strand to impersonate the buzzing of a fly caught in another spider's web, while a different spider of the same exact species might opt to catch a real fly to throw in the web and, while the prey spider is distracted, sneak up behind it. It may pretend to be inanimate by moving only in the wind, it may observe and duplicate another spider's entire mating ritual or sometimes it might even build a complete web of its own that attaches to its victim's, thereby creating a trap out of the spider's own trap.



Jesus, Portia, there's being clever and then there's just being a [manually censored word for male anatomy]

Portia spiders design a new tactic for every individual spider they hunt, noting the prey's species, behaviors and circumstances before formulating their plan of attack. The Portia spider is so ingeniously murderous, it makes the Joker look like a furious mongoloid with a sledgehammer.

Don't believe us? Think we're exaggerating?
 
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#1 - The "Porsche" of Spiders
If you're an arachnophobe, (congratulations on reading this far) jumping spiders of the
Portia genus (indeed named for the sports car) are either your best friend or worst
nightmare. Considered the most measurably "intelligent" and among the most highly
evolved of all arachnids, these amazing creatures prey almost exclusively upon other,
often far larger spiders, and employ a wide variety of hunting techniques to overcome
such formidable food; techniques that the same individual chooses and even modifies
depending on its prey. While millions of other predators have repeated the same
behavior to obtain the same food for thousands of years at a time, a spider with fewer
brain cells than a honeybee has learned to formulate a unique course of action for
each new situation.

Against one spider, a Portia may imitate the movements of an insect caught in their
web. Against another, the same Portia may replicate the complex mating dance of the
victim's species. They memorize every encounter, visually identify the species of their
prey and pick whatever method was successful in the past. Faced with a new species,
they test different actions, gauge the prey's reaction and determine the best strategy
through trial and error...possibly devising a course no other Portia may ever fully
duplicate.
Continued from part one, it's a countdown of the ten most remarkable
eight-limbed animals this side of a cephalopod!
Portia have been observed constructing small webs of their own, but these are
usually attached to the webs of larger spiders. When an insect gets caught in this
addition, the Portia is actually using it as bait for the other arachnid. Some are also
known to hunt the spitting spiders described on our previous page, and prefer to
target mothers who are unable to spit while they carry eggs or young in their jaws.
Against active hunters such as other jumping spiders, they behave like a dead leaf
and move only with the breeze.

The more they are studied, the more these tiny schemers - and many other spiders -
continue to surprise us.
 
Can we just keep the discussions about oil! Spiders give me chills, just becuz on how they look. Furry, soo many eyes, long legs, nasty teeth. Other then that, they feel the wrath of my size 11 sneaker
 
Originally Posted By: finalyzd
Can we just keep the discussions about oil! Spiders give me chills, just becuz on how they look. Furry, soo many eyes, long legs, nasty teeth. Other then that, they feel the wrath of my size 11 sneaker



This one is harmless to humans. No recorded bitings of humans, ever, and the intelligence and planning ability it displays is nothing short of astounding for something with a brain that small. It's merely fascinating.
 
I don't want it watching and imitating my mating ritual.

But it would have to watch and learn really fast.
 
Built in instinct or smart?
Do you think they have to learn how to spin webs and perform their idiosynchratic behaviors?
I believe it is all in there from day one.
 
Originally Posted By: ZZman
I don't want it watching and imitating my mating ritual.

But it would have to watch and learn really fast.



crackmeup2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Built in instinct or smart?
Do you think they have to learn how to spin webs and perform their idiosynchratic behaviors?
I believe it is all in there from day one.



If you actually read, you will see that they learn by trial and error. If they fail with a certain tactic against a certain species, but a different tactic works, they will use that one against that species from then on. And different spiders of the same species utilize different tactics. That indicates that they are capable of strategizing and learning. If it was instinctual, it would be pretty much the same all the way around.

They will put a spider on top of one pole, and there are two others that are on curved and bendy poles, one has a reward of food on the top. The portia will sit there for several hours turning back and forth (remember, small eyes, narrow field of vision, slower brain, longer time to procesS). They will make a decision, and almost always pick the correct pole. If they pick the wrong one, they know it very quickly and will turn around and go up the correct one. This indicates a highly evolved ability to reason and remember.
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Built in instinct or smart?
Do you think they have to learn how to spin webs and perform their idiosynchratic behaviors?
I believe it is all in there from day one.


I think you missed the point as to this spider. Its behavior is observably adaptive. Of course, they don't have to learn the basic, programmed in behaviors, but their adaptive, situation-specific responses plainly indicate an ability to process information beyond the level of basic instinct. An eight-legged Einstein? Of course not, but more capable than most critters this size.
cheers3.gif
 
No, I actually did not miss the point, but addressed it directly.
Insects are almost completely instinctive in their behavior.

We choose to imbue them with other facilities.
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
No, I actually did not miss the point, but addressed it directly.
Insects are almost completely instinctive in their behavior.

We choose to imbue them with other facilities.


That is why this spider is interesting, because it displays behaviour that is different from every other spider and insect.
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
No, I actually did not miss the point, but addressed it directly.
Insects are almost completely instinctive in their behavior.

We choose to imbue them with other facilities.

No, apparently you did, on at least two points.

First, spiders are not insects. The two are totally different critters, or classes of critters.

Second, While I think you meant "faculties," that's still incorrect. When different individuals of the same species react to similar situations differently, and the differences are provably responsive to the circumstances, that is, whether you like it or not, an indicator of rudimentary analytical capability.

We are already able to program machines to learn and adapt (ahem, cars and their ECUs included), so I don't see why it seems to be such a stretch for some that a living thing with a functioning brain can't do the same.
 
ekpolk -I said facilities, not faculties. Is is what I meant and is correct for what I meant, not what you want.

A spider may try different things , but they are already imbued with the means to do so.

And I said, "ALMOST completely instinctive in their behavior".
There is no need for you to change this for your agenda .

Many people nowadays anthropomorpize animals and insects way beyond what is really there.
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
ekpolk -I said facilities, not faculties. Is is what I meant and is correct for what I meant, not what you want.
Your diction remains flawed. And what is it "I want" exactly? FYI, I don't "want" anything with respect to ANY spider, except perhaps for them to remain outside of my house.

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
A spider may try different things , but they are already imbued with the means to do so.
Well, since dogs, cats, and, well, even humans, show some (varying of course) degree of analytical ability, and have some instinctive behaviors too, you can say the same thing for your pets -- and us too.

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
And I said, "ALMOST completely instinctive in their behavior".
There is no need for you to change this for your agenda.
Agenda? Care to specify what "agenda" you think I have regarding spiders? Again, all I care about is they stay out of my house. If they're in the walls, I expect them to eat other bugs.

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Many people nowadays anthropomorpize animals and insects way beyond what is really there.
Sure, some do, no question about that. But a spider showing the degree of behavioral adaptation that this one does is relatively remarkable. Do I expect one to walk in to my den tonight to discuss existential philosophy with me? Gee, no. Does this animal, however, have a superior ability to analyze and respond to unique stimulus, as compared to other similar-size critters, I think so.

You anthropomorphize when you pretend that your dog understands your angst concerning your mother-in-law. Recognizing that one particular animal has relatively good analytical ability is not that. Of course it has a large set of programmed in, instinctive behaviors too -- it's a spider. . .
 
these are my favorite spider . Will let them jump on the hand . That's if they're not too big
wink.gif
. Nothing like herdin' up a jumpin' spider
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.
 
JUMPING SPIDERS ROCK MY WORLD!

This thread reminds me of my ongoing mission to find and wear a t-shirt with a large picture of a jumping spider face.
 
Originally Posted By: Kaboomba
JUMPING SPIDERS ROCK MY WORLD!

This thread reminds me of my ongoing mission to find and wear a t-shirt with a large picture of a jumping spider face.
thumbsup2.gif
. How 'bout a tattoo of one ?
wink.gif
 
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