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Spidey Scents: How Male Spiders Smell With Their Legs

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Spiders have many legs, eyes, and “noses”. Researchers discovered how male spiders use wall-pore sensilla to detect odors.

  • Wall-pore sensilla = hairs along the upper leg

  • Present on most spider species

  • But only on males

Males use their leg-nose-hairs to detect female pheromones for mating. Future research will determine how female olfactory systems work, and possibly uncover other scent-related spidey tasks. Hear me out…

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