Is "smart" the same as "ingenious little buggers"? they might not be "smart" compared to a human, but being able to replicate/copy/mimic/understand (?) them is the key to making huge advances in science and engineering, like medicine, space, robotics etc so there kind of responsible for making us "smart" aren't they? So they might not be "smart" but they make bloody good teachers. Incredible things aren't they, never cease to be amazed by what they can do.
Interesting...I have observed intelligent actions from a spider... does anyone have any information on the intellectual abilities of the spider species?