[neilep (OP)]

I just witnessed these two spiders either working collectively wrapping up supper in my garage....or in competition or just so euphorically engaged that they did not notice each other....which is it ?

[Halc]

There are communal spider species that band together in small communities to take down larger prey that would otherwise be out of reach of an individual.

The mathematics seems to be one of amount of supper per unit area. Each spider is capable of spinning only so much area of web as an individual, and twice the area means twice the prey captured.

Communal webs are larger, but still a lower area per capita, so they catch fewer victims per spider. But the larger webs allow the capture of larger prey that would be out of reach of an individual. So for small communities, cooperation yields more biomass per capita, but for even larger communities, this too drops off so you don't see massive spidey-hives like you do say with bees or something.

[Bored chemist]

Do Spiders Cooperate ?
They mate.

[neilep (OP)]

Spot on !..very very interesting answer. Thank ewe Halc.  I tend to leave the spiders alone as I like them and they help get rid of the nasty bugs. There is quite the "net"-work of webs which are clearly a coalescent amalgamation. Fascinating.

There are communal spider species that band together in small communities to take down larger prey that would otherwise be out of reach of an individual.

The mathematics seems to be one of amount of supper per unit area. Each spider is capable of spinning only so much area of web as an individual, and twice the area means twice the prey captured.

Communal webs are larger, but still a lower area per capita, so they catch fewer victims per spider. But the larger webs allow the capture of larger prey that would be out of reach of an individual. So for small communities, cooperation yields more biomass per capita, but for even larger communities, this too drops off so you don't see massive spidey-hives like you do say with bees or something.

[neilep (OP)]

Do Spiders Cooperate ?
They mate.

HA HA !! well yes, yes they do...is that co-operation or opportunity though ?

[Halc]

!! well yes, yes they do...is that co-operation or opportunity though

The male often doesn't survive the encounter, so maybe a different word than 'cooperation'. Reproduction is irresistable. I've seen a cat knowingly give its life to the cause (successfully too!).

I tend to leave the spiders alone as I like them and they help get rid of the nasty bugs.

Same here. Kind of against house rules to smite them, but the really scary ones sometimes get ferried to somewhere outside.

[evan_au]

Some spiders stay at home in the web until they get old enough to strike out on their own.