Скачать или смотреть New study reveals that spiders can detect smells using their leg hairs!

Spiders Use Leg Hairs to Detect Smells
Research reveals spiders use leg hairs to sense airborne scents, shedding light on their sensory abilities. The study answers how spiders, lacking antennae, identify odours like pheromones. Male spiders utilize olfactory hairs, known as wall-pore sensilla, to detect female pheromones, aiding in mate location.
Identifying Olfactory Sensilla
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study found wall-pore sensilla on adult male wasp spiders' upper legs, crucial for pheromone detection.
High-resolution scanning electron microscopy revealed thousands of sensilla absent in females and juvenile males, supporting their role in mate detection. Researchers highlighted to phys.org that these findings have mapped and identified sensilla previously considered absent in spiders.
Experiments showed these sensilla's sensitivity to pheromones, with amounts as small as 20 nanograms triggering significant neuronal responses. Sensilla were consistently exposed to pheromone puffs across various leg pairs, concluding that spiders' olfactory systems match the sensitivity seen in insects, showcasing advanced chemical detection capabilities.
The study found wall-pore sensilla in most male spider species explored, indicating this trait evolved multiple times, but noted some primitive species lack these structures. Future research will examine how female spiders detect smells, the chemicals important for their behaviours, and evolutionary olfaction aspects in spiders. This breakthrough lays a foundation for understanding sophisticated sensory mechanisms governing spider behaviour.