蜘蛛是自然界杰出的工匠，它们能够编织晶莹剔透的网，织网用的蛛丝甚至比人类的头发更优越。不仅如此，人们现在发现蛛形纲动物还擅长制造化学武器。
研究者发现，一种名为金色斑络新妇的蜘蛛能够产生一种有毒物质，并将其涂抹在蛛丝上，从而有效地抵挡饥饿的蚂蚁。这种蜘蛛在亚洲的热带地区很常见。
蜘蛛的秘密化学武器是一种叫做2—吡咯烷酮的化合物。舞毒蛾的幼虫也能够制造并利用这种化合物抵挡前来掠食的蚂蚁。研究者们将三种不同类型的蚂蚁放在几个由蛛丝搭建的“桥”上，有的蛛丝浸透了2—吡咯烷酮，有的则没有。蚂蚁拒绝从涂有2—吡咯烷酮的蛛丝上通过。
这一研究成果发表在11月22日英国《皇家学会学报》的网络版上。研究者们认为，蜘蛛分泌的这一化学物质很可能刺激了蚂蚁的触角，从而有效地挡住了蚂蚁，保住了自己的食物不被其抢走。
斑络新妇为肖峭科络新妇属的动物。分布于新加坡、印尼、泰国、菲律宾以及中国海南等地，主要栖息于庭院、荒地和潮湿的红树林。雄性成虫身长约1到2厘米。雌性成虫身长约5厘米，腹背部有成对的金黄色斑点，尾部有鲜红色突起。其身体的颜色和花纹会随环境而变化。
舞毒蛾属于鳞翅目毒蛾科的欧洲种，是森林和果树的一大害虫。
2—吡咯烷酮为无色或微黄色澄净液体，有微氨味，是一种强极性有机溶剂。工业上常用于生产杀虫剂。（生物谷 Bioon.com）
doi:10.1016/j.cell.2011.10.017
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A novel property of spider silk: chemical defence against ants
Zhang, Shichang; Koh, Teck Hui; Seah, Wee Khee; Lai, Yee Hing; Elgar, Mark A.; Li, Daiqin
Spider webs are made of silk, the properties of which ensure remarkable efficiency at capturing prey. However, remaining on,or near, the web exposes the resident spiders to many potential predators, such as ants. Surprisingly, ants are rarely reportedforaging on the webs of orb-weaving spiders, despite the formidable capacity of ants to subdue prey and repel enemies, thediversity and abundance of orb-web spiders, and the nutritional value of the web and resident spider. We explain this paradoxby reporting a novel property of the silk produced by the orb-web spider Nephila antipodiana (Walckenaer). These spiders deposit on the silk a pyrrolidine alkaloid (2-pyrrolidinone) that provides protection from antinvasion. Furthermore, the ontogenetic change in the production of 2-pyrrolidinone suggests that this compound representsan adaptive response to the threat of natural enemies, rather than a simple by-product of silk synthesis: while 2-pyrrolidinoneoccurs on the silk threads produced by adult and large juvenile spiders, it is absent on threads produced by small juvenilespiders, whose threads are sufficiently thin to be inaccessible to ants.
