Study finds spiders consume 800 million tons of prey every year

PanARMENIAN.Net - The scientists from the University of Basel and Lund University in Sweden used two calculation methods to determine just how much prey the global spider population is consuming, the Daily Mail reports.

Spiders make up more than 45,000 species, with a population density of up to 1,000 individuals per square meter, and scientists have long suggested they are one of the most important insect predators.

And, the calculations showed this to be true.

Researchers found that spiders wipe out roughly 400-800 million tons of prey every year, with insects and springtails accounting for more than 90 percent of the bunch.

The rest includes small vertebrates, such as frogs, lizards, snakes, fish, birds, and bats, as well as plants.

The global spider population only adds up to a weight of about 25 million tons – but, these creatures consume a comparable amount of prey to that of humans and even whales.

Humans worldwide eat about 400 million tons of meat and fish every year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, and whales eat roughly 280-500 million tons of prey.

While the estimate may seem to be wide-ranging, the team notes that spiders’ rates of kill vary within their ecosystems, which must be taken into account.