Scientists in the UK and Kenya used previously worn socks in an experiment to find out if the spider, like its prey, was attracted to human odours.
The jumping spider appears to have evolved an affinity for smelly human feet in order to help find its prey.
The East African jumping spider, Evarcha culicivora, is the only known predator that specifically preys on blood-carrying mosquitoes. Scientists had a suspicion that human odour was attractive to the spiders. To test this suspicion, they devised an aroma-based experimental set-up called an olfactometer.
They put each "test spider" into a small holding chamber into which air was pumped, either from a box containing a clean sock or one containing a worn (and therefore smelly) sock. Each spider was able leave its holding chamber at any time and escape into an exit chamber, which did not have sock-scented air pumped into it. The spiders supplied with the aroma of worn socks always remained in the holding chamber for longer than those exposed to the freshly washed sock.
To read the full story, please go to BBC 16th Feb 2011
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