Do spiders have personalities? What new research reveals

The personality possessed by a spider is distinct and may be similar to humans. But a group of African social spiders – often nicknamed ‘hippie spiders’ for their peaceful and cooperative lifestyles – might not fit that personality mold at all, according to recent observations by researchers.

Instead of having fixed traits or roles, these spiders seem to change their behavior from week to week. It’s as if individuality, at least in their case, is a moving target.

In a new study, scientists from the University of Portsmouth took a close look at the behavior of Stegodyphus dumicola, a species known for living in cooperative groups.

Over a four-month period, they carefully tracked spider colonies to see how their behavior held up over time, across different conditions and situations. What they found challenges what we think we know about animal personalities.

Spider personalities keep us guessing

Traditionally, personality in animals is defined by behavior that stays the same across time and different situations. But these spiders don’t follow that rule.

The researchers observed 28 colonies, measuring how the spiders behaved when startled, how bold or timid they were, and how quickly they helped capture prey as a team. These checks were repeated every two weeks.

At first, spiders did show some consistency in personality. But over time, that consistency fell apart. An individual that acted brave in one moment might seem shy in the next. Even hunger and environmental changes may have played a role in these shifting behaviors.

Dr Lena Grinsted is a senior lecturer of zoology in the School of the Environment and Life Sciences at the University of Portsmouth.

“Our study raises the question of whether these spiders truly have personalities at all. We found that their behavior fluctuates so much that it’s misleading to classify individuals as having stable personality traits,” noted Dr. Grinsted.

Rethinking spider society

Previous studies suggested these spiders had set roles – some being foragers, others acting as babysitters. It made sense at the time. These spiders live in tight-knit colonies, share food, and even sacrifice themselves to protect their young.

The idea that each spider might serve a particular purpose seemed logical. But the new findings paint a different picture. Rather than playing specific roles, spiders appear to change jobs depending on the situation. Their behavior is more flexible than fixed.

“It’s tempting to assume that these cooperative spiders have defined roles within their societies, just as we see in some other social animals, like ants,” said Dr Grinsted.

“However, our findings suggest they may instead live in an even more equal society than expected, where individuals participate in tasks as needed rather than being locked into specific behavioral roles.”

This kind of flexibility could mean that the way we’ve been studying animal personality – especially in social spiders – needs to change. Short-term tests and one-off observations may not be enough to tell the full story.

What we learned from hippie spiders

If we want to understand how behavior influences evolution or ecology, we’ll need to rethink how we measure it. The researchers urge scientists to watch animal behavior for longer periods and to question the methods used in past personality studies.

Quick snapshots of behavior might capture a moment, but they miss the bigger picture. Long-term patterns can reveal the subtle shifts that short-term tests often overlook.

“This challenges the idea that individual personalities drive evolutionary and ecological outcomes in this species – at least based on using traditional methods to assess personality in spiders,” said Dr Grinsted.

She noted that the study really highlights the importance of understanding how behavior changes over the course of an animal’s lifetime.

“Our humble ‘hippie’ spiders have demonstrated how categorizing individuals into ‘bold’, ‘shy’ or ‘aggressive’ based on a few observations is not just inaccurate, it may lead to wrong conclusions about evolutionary outcomes. So, much like people, you can’t judge a spider on first impressions and they’re not a fan of labels either!”

The full study was published in the journal Animal Behaviour.

Image Credit: Dr Virginia Settepani

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