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Isoxya manangona colony

Sociality in spiders is quite rare, but a new species found in Madagascar takes it a step further. Isoxya manangona kite spiders build large colonies of webs, all connected by a central silk line where multiple adult males gather harmoniously. Shown here are 23 webs that were part of a colony observed by researchers that contained 41 webs hosting 79 spiders. Researchers suggest the males could be “lekking,” gathering in a group to perform mating displays for females, a behavior never before seen in spiders. (Photo originally published in Agnarsson et al 2023, Insect Systematics and Diversity)

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