B.B.C. Nature Article
Social spiders' personalities determine the tasks they perform and the division of labour in their societies, new research has shown.
Females lack physical differences, instead they display either aggressive or docile behaviour.
Scientists observed how often each personality type participated in tasks like catching prey and parental care.
They showed clear links between personality, preference for specific tasks and proficiency at those tasks.
The US-based research team reported their findings in the journal PNAS.
Much has been written about the division of labour between specialised groups - or castes - in animal societies by looking at differences in their bodies.
Many social insects have queens and workers that differ considerably in size or structure and the roles they perform.
But studies on social invertebrates without these physical differences are limited.

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