The Animal Highlight

S2E9: Sonic Spiders

Claudia Hirtenfelder and Hannah Hunter Season 2 Episode 9

In this this episode Hannah Hunter discusses how orb weaver spiders and ogre faced spiders make use of impressive sonic strategies to hunt. This season is all about “Animals and Sound” and was extracted from Season 4 of The Animal Turn Podcast.


 Featured: 

 

Credits:

  • Claudia Hirtenfelder, producer and host 
  • Hannah Hunter, co-host
  • Christiaan Mentz, sound editor and producer 
  • Rebecca Shen, content producer and designer (logo and episode artwork)
  • Gordon Clarke, bed music composer
  • Learn more about the team here. 

 

Support the podcast via: 

 

Sponsor:

Thank you to the sponsors of the fourth season of The Animal Turn podcast, “Animals and Sound,” where this animal highlight was originally aired 23 March 2022 

Send us a text

A.P.P.L.E
Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities.

The Sonic Arts of Place Laboratory
The SAP Lab provides workspace and equipment for students engaged in sound related activities.

Sonic Arts Studio
The Queen’s Sonic Arts Studio (formerly Electroacoustic Music Studio) was founded in 1970.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

The Animal Highlight is a spinoff and sister podcast to the award winning show, the Animal Turn Podcast.

Connect with us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

00:00 - Introduction 

 

02:33 – Orb Weaver Spiders

  • Beautiful spiders that look similar to the spider you see in Charlotte’s Web. 
  • They are impressive in size and in terms of how they hear. 
  • Recent study by researchers found that Orb Weaver Spiders use their webs to capture sound. They refer to this as the spider “outsourcing their hearing” meaning that the spider isn’t constrained to their body. The thin silk strands of the web act as “hyperactive acoustic antennae.” These spiders pick up on the movements in their web through claws at the tip of their legs and that is that how they hear. By listening through their webs these spiders are also able to supersize their hearing. These spiders can also adjust to the web to their hearing needs. 

 

06:38 – Ogre Faced Spiders

 

10:40 - Credits

 

 


People on this episode

Podcasts we love

Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.

The Animal Turn Artwork

The Animal Turn

Claudia Hirtenfelder