Study shows spiders use UV light to mate

WUHAN, China, May 5 (UPI) -- Chinese scientists have found ultraviolet B light plays a role in spider sex, the first evidence of animals being able to see UVB rays.

The results showed that male Chinese jumping spiders use their bodies to reflect UVB rays, invisible to the human eye, to communicate with potential mates, the BBC reported Monday. Scientists had previously known that several animal species used ultraviolet A light to "talk" to each other.

In the study, conducted by biologists from China and Singapore and published in the latest issue of Current Biology, researchers determined that "significantly more" male spiders attracted mates when UVB light was present compared to when it was blocked. The spiders' eyes had previously been shown to contain UVB photoreceptors.

Daiqin Li, a professor from the National University of Singapore, said that while previous studies looked at UVA light in animal communication, the new effort was the first study to show that some animals can indeed "see" UVB light, according to the BBC.