Web decorating with garbage

Researchers propose decaying food remains in spider webs confuse would-be predators

Picked-over carcasses as home decor attract the wrong kind of attention, even among spiders, researchers say. But the decorations may work well as decoys.

Cyclosa mulmeinensis spiders tie old bits of prey onto their webs. Many spiders add extra features, mostly of silk, to their webs, and biologists are still debating what functions the apparent decorations serve.