Do any spiders hunt in packs?

A Spiders are generally pretty solitary creatures, prone to cannibalism. But there are a handful of species, mostly from the tropics, that build large communal webs and cooperate to immobilise prey that are too big to handle alone.

Trapping prey in a web, though, is a rather passive form of pack-hunting. Four Australian species of crab spider are more active in their technique, working together like prides of little lions. They build leaf nests in trees and hide in ‘portholes’, ready to rush out en masse to ambush passing insects. Groups capture more and larger prey, and immobilise them faster compared to single spiders.

S Blackman