Could light act like a compass when a spider lacks the usual sense of down? In a small 2011 ISS experiment, two orb-weaving spiders tended to face away from the habitat lights when they were on. With the lights off, their orientation showed no consistent direction. Most space webs were more symmetric than the Earth controls; among the space webs, those built with the lights on were less symmetric than those built in darkness. The findings suggest light offered a direction cue for these tested spiders, not a rule for every spider. The visuals are original illustrations, not ISS footage or the study animals themselves.
Sources:
- The Science of Nature — primary study: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-020-01708-8
- NASA — spider research on the ISS: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/spooky-on-the-space-station/
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