Science Café presents "Social Spiders: When Cannibals Coexist" with guest speaker Jenai Rutledge, Ph.D., on Wednesday, Mar. 27, from 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. in Room M3750.

Join us for this discussion about the fascinating lives of the rare social spiders.  Dr. Rutledge will describe some of the most interesting examples of social spiders and talk about the possible evolutionary origins of, and potential problems with, the social behavior in spiders.

Spiders are known cannibals that prefer to be alone, as some of the more notorious spiders’ names would reflect.  Most spider species are opportunistic hunters and, in addition to their typically insect-laden diet, will eat other spiders when given the chance.  However, despite their typical intolerance for other spiders, of the 40,000+ species of spiders, there are 20-30 species that actually coexist in close proximity (sometimes even within a single web) and may cooperate in prey capture and brood rearing.

Dr. Rutledge earned her bachelor's degree in Animal Behavior from Bucknell University and her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Cincinnati, and she has taught general biology courses for both biology and non-biology majors at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Colorado.  Since fall of 2011, Dr. Rutledge has taught general college biology at ACC.

Refreshments will be provided at this event, which is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Celia Norman, Biology Faculty and Department Chair, at celia.norman@arapahoe.edu or 303.797.5851.