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Assassin Bug Hunts Spiders with Prey Vibes

Toss a piece of leaf onto a spiderweb. The spider is indifferent. Because leaves don't squirm like captured flies. But Australia's "assassin bug" turns the tables on spiders. It exploits their keen sense for vibrations by mimicking the movements of prey—luring unwitting spiders into striking range.

向蜘蛛网扔片树叶，蜘蛛老大肯定无动于衷，那只是片树叶，又不会像自投罗网的苍蝇那样扭来就去。不过，当蜘蛛遇上澳大利亚食虫椿象，那情形就反转了。蜘蛛对震动反应敏锐，食虫椿象正是利用这一点，模仿蜘蛛猎物扭动挣扎，继而把蜘蛛引诱到自己的攻击范围之内。

Researchers observed how spiders reacted to various visitors to their webs—like leaf fragments, courting males, prey like flies, and the assassin bugs. The spiders ignored leaves, and assumed mating position for males. But they approached assassin bugs just as if they were investigating a juicy fly.

研究人员观察了当树叶、求偶对象、苍蝇之类的猎物以及食虫椿象等各种不同生物落到蜘蛛网上时蜘蛛的反应。树叶之类直接无视掉~至于爱慕者光临嘛，当然是好好享受两人世界啦~但蜘蛛会把食虫椿象当成美味可口的苍蝇一般的猎物，迫不及待对其下手。

Then the researchers analyzed the frequency, duration and amplitude of each visitor's vibrations. And they found that assassin bug's vibes most closely matched some of those of prey. When prey struggle violently, spiders rush to subdue them—a potentially dangerous situation for assassin bugs. So the bugs have learned to gently pluck the silk strands, to mimic only the unthreatening leg twitches of exhausted prey. The research is in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. [Anne Wignall and Phillip Taylor, "Assassin bug uses aggressive mimicry to lure spider prey"]

研究人员经分析各造访生物震动的频率、持续时间以及振幅发现，食虫椿象与蜘蛛的某些猎物的震动特点最为相似。要是猎物拼命挣扎，蜘蛛会在第一时间把他们解决掉——对食虫椿象来说这也是个潜在危险。因此，食虫椿象学会了小心翼翼地振动蜘蛛网，以模仿小腿抽搐、精疲力尽因而毫无威胁的猎物。这项研究刊登在《皇家学会学报B》上。

The assassin bug’s choice of vibrations maximizes the chances that the spider, while still behaving like the hunter, becomes the hunted.

食虫椿象选择的振动方式将蜘蛛变成猎物的几率最大化，可怜那蜘蛛还蒙在鼓里呢。

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