Spiders partial to a side order of pollen with their flies

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
18-Dec-2013
Contact: Eleanor Gaskarth
University of Exeter

Spiders may not be the pure predators we generally believe, after a study found that some make up a quarter of their diet by eating pollen.

Dr Dirk Sanders of the University of Exeter demonstrated that orb web spiders – like the common garden variety – choose to eat pollen even when insects are available.

Spider webs snare insect prey, but can also trap aerial plankton like pollen and fungal spores.

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