Parental care might help invasive brown widow spiders spread. Valeria Arabesky and colleagues at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev found that invasive brown widow spiders effectively defend their egg sacs against wasp parasites. The spiders use multiple defense strategies, including guarding behaviors and constructing their egg sacs with denser spikes when wasps are around. These strategies may benefit the invasive species and protect the spiders against high levels of predation and parasitism.
Don’t mess with mama spider: Parental care helps invasive spiders thwart their parasites
