Can Spiders Understand You?
WouterGenerally, spiders don’t like humans. But the opposite is true for some species. They can become friendly depending on how they feel and their environment.
Spiders don’t have ears, but they do have hairs on their legs that are sensitive to sound and vibrations. They use these to detect the sound of humans. They may even be able to hear people talking up to five metres away. But despite their ability to sense human speech, they can’t understand it. Similarly, they can’t recognize people as a keeper.
There is a common misconception that spiders can’t communicate with humans. However, the truth is that they have better memories than most people think. In fact, they can recognize shapes and colors. They are also capable of detecting carbon dioxide and air pressure changes.
The ability to distinguish between animate and inanimate objects has long been thought to be evolutionarily ancient. Until now, researchers have only seen such an ability in vertebrates. But new research suggests that some jumping spiders can actually hear sounds in the air. This means that they might be able to sense when a wasp is approaching.
While arachnologists have long believed that spiders only have a sense of sight, recent research shows that they can hear. They are able to respond to sounds as low as 68 decibels. The frequencies that they can hear are similar to those of large flying insects, such as butterflies and bees.
The scientists involved in this study have said that the findings could have implications for designing microphones that are more sensitive to bio-inspired sound. It also suggests that spiders are able to hear sounds at longer distances than previously thought.
