Question

A small housefly can become tangled in the web of an orb-weaver spider. As the housefly tries to free itself, it can damage the web. When the orb-weaver reaches the fly, it proceeds to consume it. The relationship between these species would be classified as -

Answer 1

The interaction between the orb-weaver spider and the housefly can be classified as predation, where the spider is the predator and the fly is the prey.

Step-by-step explanation:

The relationship between a housefly getting tangled in the web of an orb-weaver spider, which then proceeds to consume the fly, would be classified as a predatory relationship. Predation is an ecological interaction where one organism, the predator, consumes another organism, its prey. In this case, the orb-weaver spider acts as the predator, capturing and consuming the housefly ensnared in its web. This interaction is different from commensal relationships, where one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed, or parasitoid interactions, where one organism lives at the expense of another and eventually leads to its death when reproducing.