A new study has documented something that appears to be intentional cruelty in spiders. Not only are they catching fireflies, they’re keeping them alive just long enough to turn them into bait.

Researchers studying Psechrus clavis, a sheet web spider native to East Asia, noticed their webs often held live, glowing fireflies. The spiders didn’t eat them right away. They waited. Other insects, drawn to the light, were also trapped. Those insects were eaten immediately. The fireflies were left to glow until they weren’t helpful anymore.

Published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, the study describes how the spiders’ hunting success increased dramatically when a firefly was left hanging in the web. “Our findings highlight a previously undocumented interaction where firefly signals, intended

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