Dewdrop spider

This is another story of a symbiotic relationship, in this case between two spiders. A symbiotic relationship is when two completely different species live together in harmony, each providing a service that serves the other. In this case, the tiny dewdrop spider removes tiny prey from the web, which saves the host a lot of maintenance. The dewdrop spider gets a free meal without having to expend a lot of energy building a web, which it is perfectly capable of doing.

The host in this case, as you can see from the golden drops of sticky glue, is the golden orb weaver spider, nephila pilipes.

The dewdrop spider is a kleptoparasite, which means that it feeds on the prey of others rather than catching its own food.