Spider in tree nut

[FateSpinner]

Hey guys, this is my first post, nice to formally meet a like-minded community. I've been fascinated with arachnids for many years now in particular by the habits of jumping spiders as I find them to be incredibly intelligent for such small creatures.
Anyway I reside in North Carolina and I've familiarized myself with many native species here, however recently I stumbled across a jumping spider with an interesting habit. I found some tree nuts or seedlings near my yard and started opening them up only to find jumping spiders nestled inside. The tree nuts were otherwise hollow, no pulp inside. Upon closer inspection I found multiple spiders each hidden inside their own casing. My assumption is they made these tree nuts their homes after they fell to the ground but I'm not certain. What's more is I don't know how common a practice this is for jumping spiders, and I'm also uncertain how they got inside these pods or at what stage in their life cycles.
I'm hoping someone here with more knowledge than I can enlighten me on the subject as I'm very curious by their behavior. Until then I welcome any comments and wish you arachnophiles happy hunting. And I apologize if the images have less than adequate resolution. I'm currently stuck with a cheap phone.

 

[SpookySpooder]

It's super common. The nuts get eaten by other insects, the spider finds these insects and eats them or just finds the empty nut and turns it into a home. If you think about it, a nut is the perfect place to protect yourself as a spider, and the perfect place to raise an egg sac, which is what you have there.

Spiders, like most insects, have the ability to flatten their exoskeleton to fit into tight crevices that you would otherwise think they couldn't.

NatGeo has a very good video on this ability where they demonstrate a roaches' ability to slide right into cracks by flattening their bodies.

 

[FateSpinner]

It's super common. The nuts get eaten by other insects, the spider finds these insects and eats them or just finds the empty nut and turns it into a home. If you think about it, a nut is the perfect place to protect yourself as a spider, and the perfect place to raise an egg sac, which is what you have there.

Spiders, like most insects, have the ability to flatten their exoskeleton to fit into tight crevices that you would otherwise think they couldn't.

NatGeo has a very good video on this ability where they demonstrate a roaches' ability to slide right into cracks by flattening their bodies.

Oh wow that's incredible! I knew of many huntsman doing that for camouflage but I wasn't aware jumping spiders could as well. It also explains the squirrel that moved into our tree. Thank you for the insight!

 

[The Snark]

A neighbor of mine for a while, local university bio student working on his thesis, studying nuts and seeds. Natch his nickname was the Nut Case. He was in the process of collecting nuts and seeds from all over the western US and recording the animals using the shells or casings as homes or hunting grounds or other. An entire slice of an ecosystem rarely taken notice of.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

A neighbor of mine for a while, local university bio student working on his thesis, studying nuts and seeds. Natch his nickname was the Nut Case. He was in the process of collecting nuts and seeds from all over the western US and recording the animals using the shells or casings as homes or hunting grounds or other. An entire slice of an ecosystem rarely taken notice of.

A Whole new meaning to being in a “nut house “ this guy collects and studies them ?? That’s awesome !!

It's super common. The nuts get eaten by other insects, the spider finds these insects and eats them or just finds the empty nut and turns it into a home. If you think about it, a nut is the perfect place to protect yourself as a spider, and the perfect place to raise an egg sac, which is what you have there.

Spiders, like most insects, have the ability to flatten their exoskeleton to fit into tight crevices that you would otherwise think they couldn't.

NatGeo has a very good video on this ability where they demonstrate a roaches' ability to slide right into cracks by flattening their bodies.

Yeah it’s the perfect hiding spot for a spider !