{"id":2742,"date":"2026-08-15T21:24:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T20:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/voracious-arachnids-harvestmen-caught-attacking-live-frogs\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T21:24:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T20:24:50","slug":"voracious-arachnids-harvestmen-caught-attacking-live-frogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/voracious-arachnids-harvestmen-caught-attacking-live-frogs\/","title":{"rendered":"Voracious Arachnids: Harvestmen Caught Attacking Live Frogs"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Although a handful of similar predation cases had been previously documented, unexpected scenes involving harvestmen and frogs were observed in the tropical forests of South America.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Harvestmen vs. Anurans<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As a rule, invertebrates typically comprise the meals of larger members of this order or of vertebrates. Published in the journal <em>Ecology and Evolution<\/em>, the new study reveals a markedly different scenario for harvestmen, or opilions, these <strong>arachnids<\/strong> equipped with long and slender legs.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">Human presence alters the movements of pumas and even the way bears feed<\/span><\/section>\n<p>As biologist Luis Fernando Garcia explains, harvestmen are rather slow and fragile creatures, while <strong>frogs<\/strong>, in this case anurans, prove to be robust, lively, and agile. Consequently, the four predation cases recently documented did not fail to surprise researchers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>It was quite remarkable to see them feed on relatively large amphibians, and, in some cases, to hold them immobile while they were still alive<\/em>,\u201d the researcher notes. \u201c<em>Such observations illustrate the complex dynamics of biology and our ignorance of interactions within tropical ecosystems<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"730\" height=\"606\" src=\"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786825489_762_Voracious-Arachnids-Harvestmen-Caught-Attacking-Live-Frogs.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1013596\"  ><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Powerful pedipalps<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Often portrayed as harmless, these arachnids do not produce venom, which suggests they use their powerful pedipalps (spike-like appendages) to capture their prey.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">In response to drought, some plants save water through a very unusual form of photosynthesis<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201c<em>These structures are equipped with spiny projections that allow them to hold their prey firmly as they feed<\/em>,\u201d explains Garcia. \u201c<em>By targeting key areas, they would hinder their prey\u2019s movements, as has previously been observed in predatory beetles of the Epomis genus<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While he does not rule out the possibility that the targeted frogs were sleeping or weakened by disease or injury, the scientist notes that one of the photographed amphibian species is now considered threatened. \u201c<em>Better understanding this predator\u2013prey dynamic could thus help guide conservation efforts<\/em>,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n<p>A few years ago, a species of harvestman that strikingly resembled\u2026 a rabbit was filmed in Ecuador.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">A whale hunted near Barrow, Alaska, hid in its blubber the shard of a weapon missing for more than a century<\/span><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2142,318,2144,2145,2143,264,2141],"class_list":["post-2742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-arachnids","tag-attacking","tag-caught","tag-frogs","tag-harvestmen","tag-live","tag-voracious","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2742"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2744,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2742\/revisions\/2744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}