Vanity Fair: Spiders play mind games
UC biologist explains how jumping spiders display surprising intelligence
Vanity Fair turned to University of Cincinnati spider expert Nathan Morehouse to explain the surprising intelligence demonstrated by certain spiders.
While people often associate intelligence with brain size, the tiny brains of these Tic Tac-sized spiders seem to support complex mental processes.
Nathan Morehouse, an associate professor of biological sciences in UC's College of Arts and Sciences, told Vanity Fair that jumping spiders, in particular, demonstrate smarts.
“Jumping spiders are remarkably clever animals,” Morehouse told Vanity Fair. “I always find it delightful when something like a humble jumping spider punctures our sense of biological superiority.”
One kind of jumping spider, Portia, hunts other spiders. BBC Earth chronicled how the spider uses a variety of hunting tactics to reach prey depending on the scenario — in some cases luring the prey closer by plucking its web like a captured fly. The spider also has an uncanny ability to study its environment to plot the best path to reach unsuspecting spiders by dropping down a line of silk above them.
“Even amongst this surprisingly intelligent group, Portia stands out as being oddly brilliant,” Morehouse said. “They are, after all, hunting very dangerous prey, so caution and cleverness are useful tools.”
Morehouse, who studies the visual acuity of spiders around the world in his lab, is director of UC's new Institute for Research in Sensing. The institute will host the second of eight public talks on senses 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 18 at Lunken Airport's Greater Cincinnati Airmen Club. The night's topic: biomimicry and the future of sensing.
UC associate professor Nathan Morehouse studies the sensory abilities of spiders around the world. He is director of UC's Institute for Research in Sensing. Photo/Jay Yocis/UC Creative + Brand
Featured image at top: A jumping spider. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative + Brand
Related Stories
Iron deficiency anemia significantly increases ischemic stroke...
May 16, 2025
HCP Live highlighted research conducted by the University of Cincinnati's Jahnavi Gollamudi while at University Hospital Cleveland Medical Center that suggests iron deficiency anemia independently and significantly increases the odds of ischemic stroke in young adults.
How are tariffs impacting your retirement plans?
May 15, 2025
WVXU sat down with University of Cincinnati’s Michael Neugent for a look into how tariffs impact the markets, retirement funds and inflation. Neugent, associate professor-educator at Lindner College of Business and Director of the MS Finance Program, said that investors in the stock market prefer certainty in fiscal policy to help them map out investment decisions. “Right now, that lack of certainty is providing some angst within the market and investors,” he told WVXU. Many U.S. companies will face challenges from tariffs, but pauses on tariff plans can sometimes lead to more questions than answers.
University of Cincinnati project aims to aid people with spinal...
May 15, 2025
Spectrum News and Fox 19 highlighted University of Cincinnati research designing a user-centered, easy-to-use assistive device to help restore hand grasping motions for people with spinal cord injuries/diseases.