Stacey's Web Development Co.

Ah Lee

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Back to the good ol' office

The new company location didn't seem to please Pepper much. The human slave is always either playing music or gaming, and complaining about poo on his computer.

Pepper decided to close the office down, and like all responsible CEOs, she ate the company. First she ate the hub. Then the anchor lines. Then the barrier web. Some lines she just cut, and one ended up on Coffee's web, which an annoyed Coffee promptly removed.

It was a very clean job, and by the time she was done only a few lines remained.

She made the great journey again, right back to where she started.

IMG_5834~2.jpg

It's a good thing I didn't move the UV light, she's now parked back right in front of it. Again she has built the same kind of web, the ones with really large holes, and its about the size of the one she built as a kid.

She's really skinny from her egg-laying, so I fed her a butterfly and a dragonfly, and she's looking better now.

IMG_5832~2.jpg

Her colors have really darkened since her last molt, but when lit from behind, her reds still really pop.

IMG_5842~2.jpg

Her coloration still really baffles me, I have never seen this color morph in the wild before, especially not the half-gold carapace.

Getting closer to an answer

Last month I had the chance to see Pepper rebuild her web, and I think I have a better idea of what's going on.

This is her building her web.


And this is her attempting to fill them in afterwards.


You can see she's attempting to do something, but no silk is coming out. All I see afterwards is a little bit of glue/web wherever she tried to weave.

So could it be that she cannot weave a proper web anymore? And why? Possibly something missing in her diet? I can't think of what an orbweaver might eat that I am not providing, but pollen is once again high on my list of suspicions.

I am supplementing her diet with pollen-laced insects now. I've been doing it for the last week, so I'll keep observing if it makes any difference.
 

Charliemum

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I hope it helps Lee and that she can web again soon hopefully she is just tiered from her egg laying.
 

The Snark

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So could it be that she cannot weave a proper web anymore? And why? Possibly something missing in her diet? I can't think of what an orbweaver might eat that I am not providing, but pollen is once again high on my list of suspicions.

I am supplementing her diet with pollen-laced insects now. I've been doing it for the last week, so I'll keep observing if it makes any difference.
I've looked for proper research for this in the past. Nothing. Just conjectures and assumptions. It looks like you are in for the long haul. The 'unable to make certain web' tests. It needs to be reliably repeated with specimens of the same species. Most likely not all of them will have this fail so you will need to test enough subjects to reach a reliable >more than 50%...<. Once you have predictable fails in a majority you can start doing comparative analysis within the species until you get predictable test results pertaining to age or sex or environment or diet or whatever. All about finding the common denominator. Once you find that you can start working on actual tests that either prolong the function of the particular spinneret or shorten it's useful period. Then the question will arise as to whether your derived data applies to different species which will, in turn, potentially provide information on the genus.
Best of luck and keep documenting!

Don't forget, you must use critical analysis. All non repeatable results must be discarded no matter how unusual / interesting along with the top and bottom 10% - as in this case, always happens vs never happens. You aren't researching particular animals but producing data applicable to all of the same species or of the same species under circumstance X. All about finding the common denominator.

If you manage to derive the required data I'd be willing to help you write a white paper submission. If it ever comes to that the paper will inevitably get shot in the arse by the fuddy duddys. That's actually good! You managed to get their attention and their reasons for shooting down your research are your very best friends in improving and refining your data. At that point science students will be happy to come to your aid. Nothing beats getting your name as a co-author or contributor on an accepted white paper for an undergrad or someone slogging away on their doctorate. :geek::happy:

PS BTW, don't get intimidated by all the academic glurp. You can always crank out a clinical study paper which is restricted or limited and doesn't need to meet all the criteria of a full blown white paper. Clinical studies are often used as parts of white papers as references. Clinical studies are most often used in tests of drug efficacy or side effects but can be applicable to any scientific fact finding effort.
 
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Charliemum

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I've looked for proper research for this in the past. Nothing. Just conjectures and assumptions. It looks like you are in for the long haul. The 'unable to make certain web' tests. It needs to be reliably repeated with specimens of the same species. Most likely not all of them will have this fail so you will need to test enough subjects to reach a reliable >more than 50%...<. Once you have predictable fails in a majority you can start doing comparative analysis within the species until you get predictable test results pertaining to age or sex or environment or diet or whatever. All about finding the common denominator. Once you find that you can start working on actual tests that either prolong the function of the particular spinneret or shorten it's useful period. Then the question will arise as to whether your derived data applies to different species which will, in turn, potentially provide information on the genus.
Best of luck and keep documenting!

Don't forget, you must use critical analysis. All non repeatable results must be discarded no matter how unusual / interesting along with the top and bottom 10% - as in this case, always happens vs never happens. You aren't researching particular animals but producing data applicable to all of the same species or of the same species under circumstance X. All about finding the common denominator.

If you manage to derive the required data I'd be willing to help you write a white paper submission. If it ever comes to that the paper will inevitably get shot in the arse by the fuddy duddys. That's actually good! You managed to get their attention and their reasons for shooting down your research are your very best friends in improving and refining your data. At that point science students will be happy to come to your aid. Nothing beats getting your name as a co-author or contributor on an accepted white paper for an undergrad or someone slogging away on their doctorate. :geek::happy:

PS BTW, don't get intimidated by all the academic glurp. You can always crank out a clinical study paper which is restricted or limited and doesn't need to meet all the criteria of a full blown white paper. Clinical studies are often used as parts of white papers as references. Clinical studies are most often used in tests of drug efficacy or side effects but can be applicable to any scientific fact finding effort.
Is it OK if I ask a question I am new to t's n spiders is it usual for a spider to "run out" of web I have never seen/heard this before? Just because you seem to know your stuff and honestly it seems mad to me that a spider could just "run out" as I said total noob so don't worry if you don't want to answer or explain in layman's terms am just curious. Can something like pollen missing from a diet really make that much difference? I know they are golden orb weavers maybe the pollen is what makes the golden hue to their web? Again a noob and curious lol
 
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The Snark

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Is it OK if I ask a question I am new to t's n spiders is it usual for a spider to "run out" of web I have never seen/heard this before? Just because you seem to know your stuff and honestly it seems mad to me that a spider could just "run out" as I said total noob so don't worry if you don't want to answer or explain in layman's terms am just curious.
Legit question. However, it isn't just 'web'. Spiders can produce several kinds of web from up to, I think, 8 spinnerets. The 'nozzles' of the spinnerets can control and eject web anywhere from an ultra precision high density stream as with the guy lines of Latrodectus on out to a fluffy almost fog like web that aids in ballooning dispersal of spiderlings. Then the web may be eaten and the protein assimilated and used over again, or, as in the case of some orb weavers, an ultra high nutrition glop and energy booster left in the center of the web for some rejuvenation upon web completion. And then of course, the webs of all spiders, even the spiders that don't make web traps or hides, is very commonly used as utility ropes for all sorts of mundane applications.
So to answer your question, no simple answer. It could be anything from normal and natural to needing a change of diet on out to a genetic defect handed down from the primal spider, and everything in between. @Ah Lee has gone sleuthing, trying out the basics first.
 

Charliemum

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Legit question. However, it isn't just 'web'. Spiders can produce several kinds of web from up to, I think, 8 spinnerets. The 'nozzles' of the spinnerets can control and eject web anywhere from an ultra precision high density stream as with the guy lines of Latrodectus on out to a fluffy almost fog like web that aids in ballooning dispersal of spiderlings. Then the web may be eaten and the protein assimilated and used over again, or, as in the case of some orb weavers, an ultra high nutrition glop and energy booster left in the center of the web for some rejuvenation upon web completion. And then of course, the webs of all spiders, even the spiders that don't make web traps or hides, is very commonly used as utility ropes for all sorts of mundane applications.
So to answer your question, no simple answer. It could be anything from normal and natural to needing a change of diet on out to a genetic defect handed down from the primal spider, and everything in between. @Ah Lee has gone sleuthing, trying out the basics first.
Wow I knew spiders had more than one sort of web eg webs and egg sacks , but I had no idea it was that many. How interesting, and now you have said it it only makes sense that it would be something missing in their diet or a genetic thing 🤔 makes me wonder if she is a natural hybrid like Lee thinks and this has played a part in her lack of web or if it is just something as simple as pollen. I am definitely interested in what Lee finds out. And thank you very much for answering me so quickly 😊
 

The Snark

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that it would be something missing in their diet or a genetic thing
Or or or... One very common alteration in webbing is age. For example she no longer needs a fine web to catch gnats as she has graduated to huge butterflies. Hopefully @Ah Lee will find out.
As a footnote, I'm fascinated by Nephila as I'm surrounded by them. But I've always observed them in situ which makes it extremely difficult to assess individual capabilities. I saw one yesterday that apprently went out of it's way to build a web over a lake. Why? Decided to try out being a long jaw orb weaver?
 

Charliemum

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Or or or... One very common alteration in webbing is age. For example she no longer needs a fine web to catch gnats as she has graduated to huge butterflies. Hopefully @Ah Lee will find out.
As a footnote, I'm fascinated by Nephila as I'm surrounded by them. But I've always observed them in situ which makes it extremely difficult to assess individual capabilities. I saw one yesterday that apprently went out of it's way to build a web over a lake. Why? Decided to try out being a long jaw orb weaver?
All spiders fascinate me unfortunately here in the uk we don't get such beautifully coloured and large spiders but I still find watching them fascinating and am keen to find out more . It is interesting that it could also be down to age it never occurred to me that if a spider eats bigger pray it doesn't need such a fine web.... very interesting stuff ... I hope Lee can find something more on it 😊 been looking at web info myself this morning as I wanted to know more about this subject after reading this and talking to you 😊 I keep some of my native spiders so defiantly info I am interested in . I will definitely be paying more attention to the webs now to see if any of my webbing spiders exhibit this ie different web patterns as they age , or for different pray etc. Sorry a bit over enthusiastic lol . I just have always found webs to be beautiful and have always been interested in the different styles of webs and why different spiders build the structures they do.
 

The Snark

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Sorry a bit over enthusiastic
Absolutely nothing wrong with enthusiasm, unless you're playing with HNO3 mixed with H2SO4, or similar. When it comes to webs, they can tell you all sorts of things about the spider. The pholcid web, no sticky lines. Just a tangle of webs that happen to be perfectly suited for a spider with very long legs to adeptly maneuver about in enabling it to capture prey. The sheet web. A made to order race track enabling a spider to move faster than a skittish fly can take off. Communal webs that confuse and intimidate predators. Webs with ornamentation that serve as camouflage. Some spiders even make a special web area that is used as a trash can. And lots more.
Spiders are flat out amazing animals.
 

Charliemum

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They most certainly are the more I find out the more enchanted I become. I have a Tegeneria that has a sheet web but also puts dirt in it when she's due a moult , changed its shape from cone to ramp when I changed her food from fruit flys to crickets as she got bigger, and also has a specific place she goes to the loo as it where and dumps her left overs too. Truly amazing creatures 😊 much more complex than you would think .
 

The Snark

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Truly amazing creatures 😊 much more complex than you would think .
Here's a topic for you to chew on; spider sensory abilities. You can start with your sheet webber. Their web is an acoustic machine that transmits vibrations. As with many spiders, Agelenid eyesight is pretty poor. Able to detect light and shadow and usually movement, but not much more. A sheet web is like a pond. Something touching the web it sends direct and reflected vibrations to the spider like ripples from a rock tossed into the pond. It's brain has a built in geometrical computer that gives the spider the general location of the disturbance in the web. Enough information for it to make a fast dash and get within the requisite inch or two where it's eyesight can take over. Of course, when it's running it can't sense vibrations from the web so it has to make these calculations before hand. This is the reason sheet web spiders often make little dashes then stop, often retreating again into the hide. The disconnect period between computed calculations and it's eyesight taking over.
The web is an intrinsic sensory organ extension for many, likely most obligatory web hunters.
Then you have salticids, huge eyes and over half it's brain cavity dedicated to vision.
The lycosid, average vision but setae on it's legs with remarkable vibration sensitivity replacing visual acuity.
The apex hunter of the cob web, the latrodectus. Vision sucks, web a shambles, but a top flight expert and wrangling and webbing it's prey once it has located it. It's capture method is just three web lines that have sticky which helps it narrow down and locate it's prey.
...
 
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Ah Lee

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I've looked for proper research for this in the past. Nothing. Just conjectures and assumptions. It looks like you are in for the long haul. The 'unable to make certain web' tests. It needs to be reliably repeated with specimens of the same species. Most likely not all of them will have this fail so you will need to test enough subjects to reach a reliable >more than 50%...<. Once you have predictable fails in a majority you can start doing comparative analysis within the species until you get predictable test results pertaining to age or sex or environment or diet or whatever. All about finding the common denominator. Once you find that you can start working on actual tests that either prolong the function of the particular spinneret or shorten it's useful period. Then the question will arise as to whether your derived data applies to different species which will, in turn, potentially provide information on the genus.
Best of luck and keep documenting!

Don't forget, you must use critical analysis. All non repeatable results must be discarded no matter how unusual / interesting along with the top and bottom 10% - as in this case, always happens vs never happens. You aren't researching particular animals but producing data applicable to all of the same species or of the same species under circumstance X. All about finding the common denominator.

If you manage to derive the required data I'd be willing to help you write a white paper submission. If it ever comes to that the paper will inevitably get shot in the arse by the fuddy duddys. That's actually good! You managed to get their attention and their reasons for shooting down your research are your very best friends in improving and refining your data. At that point science students will be happy to come to your aid. Nothing beats getting your name as a co-author or contributor on an accepted white paper for an undergrad or someone slogging away on their doctorate. :geek::happy:

PS BTW, don't get intimidated by all the academic glurp. You can always crank out a clinical study paper which is restricted or limited and doesn't need to meet all the criteria of a full blown white paper. Clinical studies are often used as parts of white papers as references. Clinical studies are most often used in tests of drug efficacy or side effects but can be applicable to any scientific fact finding effort.
Wow, thank you for this @The Snark ! To be honest I've never thought that whatever I might be doing will be of importance scientifically. Mainly because I have very few subjects, in uncontrolled, unstable environments. I mostly just try to replicate natural conditions as best as I can, in the hopes that I can let my spiders lead happy lives. And document everything here both to share my excessive excitement about them, and hopefully help future orbweaver owners out and even grow this side of the hobby a little.

I don't see myself having enough free-roamers in my room to have enough data to qualify as a study, but I do hope I do stumble upon something significant enough that will improve the lives of any future spiders I keep, and maybe even trigger a study by someone who has the knowledge and resources to further my hypothesis.

It's always been my dream to contribute to this hobby in a good way, so I'll keep doing what I'm doing, and hopefully one day I'll have to PM you to discuss said paper 😁

Till then, I really want to let you know I really appreciate all the knowledge you had been sharing here. Like you I have an affinity for the Nephila family too, they are easily my favorite spiders!

Is it OK if I ask a question I am new to t's n spiders is it usual for a spider to "run out" of web I have never seen/heard this before? Just because you seem to know your stuff and honestly it seems mad to me that a spider could just "run out" as I said total noob so don't worry if you don't want to answer or explain in layman's terms am just curious. Can something like pollen missing from a diet really make that much difference? I know they are golden orb weavers maybe the pollen is what makes the golden hue to their web? Again a noob and curious lol
That is a legit question, and from my observations, I would say it is not usual for a spider to run out of web, but definitely possible since it is a physical resource.

Pepper was really skinny when I brought her home, and some of Coffee's siblings were really malnourished as well from Coffee straling their food. I'm talking like shrivelled abdomen, looking close to dying kind of skinny. But even so, all of them still had the ability to produce web and even build a complete orbweb. It really is amazing how much web can come out of something that looks like its dying.

I do not know how much spare nutrition a spider can put into producing silk, but my guess is that since for many orbweavers a web is their only way of catching food, it's highly possible that they will divert every possible bit of nutrition to producing silk if they can.

In short, I think the only time when they stop producing silk, is when they literally starve to death.

As to the gold in Nephila silk, I am not sure what gives it that hue, and supplementing pollen in Pepper's diet is just me trying to replicate everything a Nephila might have in the wild.

I feed her a varied diet of common butterflies, dragonflies and crickets. I mist twice a day. She had access to natural sunlight when she was at my computer desk. That's why I felt the only thing that might be missing is what naturally falls on her web. I hardly think she'll be crunching dried leaves so my next logical guess would be pollen. If that doesn't work, it's time to start brainstorming again!

All spiders fascinate me unfortunately here in the uk we don't get such beautifully coloured and large spiders but I still find watching them fascinating and am keen to find out more . It is interesting that it could also be down to age it never occurred to me that if a spider eats bigger pray it doesn't need such a fine web.... very interesting stuff ... I hope Lee can find something more on it 😊 been looking at web info myself this morning as I wanted to know more about this subject after reading this and talking to you 😊 I keep some of my native spiders so defiantly info I am interested in . I will definitely be paying more attention to the webs now to see if any of my webbing spiders exhibit this ie different web patterns as they age , or for different pray etc. Sorry a bit over enthusiastic lol . I just have always found webs to be beautiful and have always been interested in the different styles of webs and why different spiders build the structures they do.
Well I love your enthusiasm! And I do agree that spider webs are much, much more complex than we give them credit for. I used to just think they are simple orbwebs when I was younger, but I'm beginning to see how a lot of consideration is taken before the web is actually built. There's always a reason when they do something, it's not as random as I thought. The highlight of my day is always coming home and seeing what the little employees have been up to.

And by the way, I have been kicked out of my room because the CEO is rebuilding her web, and that means nobody is allowed in. Ridiculous, she just built it 3 days ago!

Preparing the new intern's office

Today I released the last of Skittle's babies, in preparation of the arrival of Pepper's kids.

P_20210418_183537.jpg

I hope the headstart I had given them would last them to adulthood, it's all up to them now. Go forth and expand SWDC!

I cleared out the cage, and dug through Coffee's massive pile of fruit fly carcasses.

P_20210418_195837.jpg

The number of fruit flies that must die for one spider to reach adolescence is incredible. I managed to find her molts, from when she was a speck of dust till when she left the cage. Here's a photo with a USB stick for comparison.

CoffeeMolts.jpg

The old steel mesh is really rusty and full of pollen and badly drilled holes from my feeding attempts, and I tore it out and rebuilt one with plastic mesh. This time I built the feeding hole in the middle so hopefully I get a more even dispersion of fruit flies.

P_20210418_200210.jpg
P_20210418_213349.jpg
P_20210418_213342.jpg

Again I opted for a TP substrate for better monitoring of the kid's health. I'll get some new sticks because the old ones are full of webbing. I think my hot glue skills have improved greatly though!

DSC_0874.jpg

I took a photo of Pepper's eggsac today, some of them are turning black, I sincerely hope that it's just their coloration and not the eggsac turning bad. I kept the humidity a bit higher than Skittle's eggsacs, because Nephila eggsacs are laid in soil so I'll assume they are a little more sensitive to dessication than Nephilengys'. The surrounding TP is pristine with no signs of mold, so fingers crossed!
 
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Charliemum

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Coffees little moults are so cute and I love that you will let Pepper kick you out of the room I love that you respect your spiders the way you do I do not know anyone that would go through the effort you go through for your girls.😊 As I said I don't know loads about spiders I am a noob but I do hope you are able to find the cause for Peppers "lack" of web or that it was just a one off because she was tiered 🤞

And Snark you blew my mind I have been discussing it with family most of the afternoon 😆 how cool that spiders use vibration to see long distances as it were, (at least on their web) I will definitely be doing more sleuthing on these subjects 😀 thank you for the amazing information your one cool person 😊
 

The Snark

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@Ah Lee Love that molt anthology picture. More poster material for some wall.

how cool that spiders use vibration to see long distances as it were,
And now we stroll over to the vast science of energy transmission and wavelength propagation. Got your 4G or 5G phone handy? A gigahertz.. 1 billion. 1,000,000,000. Ultra Ultra High Frequency energy transmission, UHF. Pie in the sky impossible less than 40 years ago.
Swing on over to the other end of the spectrum. All the way down. ULF. Ultra Low Frequency. Down at and even below the range of human hearing. Whale songs. Seismic clicks and crunches as tectonic plates grind together. Energy transmission all the same. The spider doesn't have auditory capability. The outer, middle and inner ear far more sophisticated than arachnids could develop. Instead, they have little wands sticking out in various directions, just like the antenna on your car. And each of these wands is attached to a flexible tissue that allows it to move slightly. In that tissue are several kinds of neurons, nerve cells, that detect the motion of the wand as energy transmitted through the air strikes it producing microvolts of electricity that the neurons report to a ganglia network in the spider brain.
Ganglia network: 'Ganglia is a scalable, distributed monitoring tool for high-performance computing systems, clusters and networks.' Lacking an advanced brain, some spiders developed this network. A primitive form of a computer system used in simple autonomic triangulation equations. Multiple wands, setae, detect energies, and give the spider a crude, primitive, three dimensional image of the environment surrounding it. An insect slowly crawls along. Some of that motion disturbs air molecules which bang into each other and the setae detects them, alerting the spider to a threat, or possibly a dinner. The lycosid typifies an apex of sorts, of this motion detection system. The setae arrayed over it's legs combined with it's near 360 degree vision makes it a very capable predator. Many other spiders have developed and use setae motion detection systems which can be approximated by the number of setae and their placement on the spider.

Speaking of complex ganglia networks, I got Magnus Carlsen doing a banter blitz in another window. Time to go confuse myself.
 
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Charliemum

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@Ah Lee Love that molt anthology picture. More poster material for some wall.


And now we stroll over to the vast science of energy transmission and wavelength propagation. Got your 4G or 5G phone handy? A gigahertz.. 1 billion. 1,000,000,000. Ultra Ultra High Frequency energy transmission, UHF. Pie in the sky impossible less than 40 years ago.
Swing on over to the other end of the spectrum. All the way down. ULF. Ultra Low Frequency. Down at and even below the range of human hearing. Whale songs. Seismic clicks and crunches as tectonic plates grind together. Energy transmission all the same. The spider doesn't have auditory capability. The outer, middle and inner ear far more sophisticated than arachnids could develop. Instead, they have little wands sticking out in various directions, just like the antenna on your car. And each of these wands is attached to a flexible tissue that allows it to move slightly. In that tissue are several kinds of neurons, nerve cells, that detect the motion of the wand as energy transmitted through the air strikes it producing microvolts of electricity that the neurons report to a ganglia network in the spider brain.
Ganglia network: 'Ganglia is a scalable, distributed monitoring tool for high-performance computing systems, clusters and networks.' Lacking an advanced brain, some spiders developed this network. A primitive form of a computer system used in simple autonomic triangulation equations. Multiple wands, setae, detect energies, and give the spider a crude, primitive, three dimensional image of the environment surrounding it. An insect slowly crawls along. Some of that motion disturbs air molecules which bang into each other and the setae detects them, alerting the spider to a threat, or possibly a dinner. The lycosid typifies an apex of sorts, of this motion detection system. The setae arrayed over it's legs combined with it's near 360 degree vision makes it a very capable predator. Many other spiders have developed and use setae motion detection systems which can be approximated by the number of setae and their placement on the spider.

Speaking of complex ganglia networks, I got Magnus Carlsen doing a banter blitz in another window. Time to go confuse myself.
That amazing . So it's kind of like having a 3d pic in their mind that they can feel/see you move if you are in if you are in their range ie on their Web? Or can they sense past the web? Sorry I keep asking more questions lol you started something off and I must know more ... who knew webs were food, traps, homes, a map, and a communication device , its a Swiss army web 😆 the spider tool for all occasions 😁
 

The Snark

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So it's kind of like having a 3d pic in their mind that they can feel/see you move if you are in if you are in their range ie on their Web? Or can they sense past the web?
A 3D picture. Similar to the hearing ability of animals but omnidirectional. The reception distance would depend a great deal on the neural sensitivity and Sympathetic Resonance of the setae which in turn depends on their length. I'm avoiding wavelength propagation here which is yet another complex aspect of the physics involved. The Doppler effect may also come into play which could inform the spider the speed and direction a sound source is moving in.

 
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Charliemum

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A 3D picture. Similar to the hearing ability of animals but omnidirectional. The reception distance would depend a great deal on the neural sensitivity and Sympathetic Resonance of the setae which in turn depends on their length. I'm avoiding wavelength propagation here which is yet another complex aspect of the physics involved. The Doppler effect may also come into play.

Wow thanks for the vid links that's so awesome of you it's so amazing the way they use sound/vibrations/air movement to see . I adore the thought of musical spiders 😊 Thank you so much for taking time to explain something so complicated to a noob I very much appreciate it.
 

The Snark

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Thank you so much for taking time to explain something so complicated to a noob I very much appreciate it.
Two things here. Hopefully I'm explaining simply enough without sounding like I'm talking down to you. The other things is, scientific information like what an animal uses in it's day to day life can be taught to children at a very early age. If explained properly it can awaken a child (or adults) interest in science, enabling them to be discerning and employ critical thinking. Critical thinking frees the mind and is behind each and every major scientific discovery. Something as simple as a spider covers a solid dozen different aspects of science and can show a child in basic understandable ways how scientific principles aren't complex glurp on blackboards or spouted in lectures but tools we can use every day to better understand the world we live in.
 

Charliemum

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753
Two things here. Hopefully I'm explaining simply enough without sounding like I'm talking down to you. The other things is, scientific information like what an animal uses in it's day to day life can be taught to children at a very early age. If explained properly it can awaken a child (or adults) interest in science, enabling them to be discerning and employ critical thinking. Critical thinking frees the mind and is behind each and every major scientific discovery. Something as simple as a spider covers a solid dozen different aspects of science and can show a child in basic understandable ways how scientific principles aren't complex glurp on blackboards or spouted in lectures but tools we can use every day to better understand the world we live in.
No you don't read like your talking down more like explaining a passion 😊 I am 35 and I found it fascinating so did my 7 year old son and my 57 year old mum 😁 I think it's brilliant that spiders can help with all sorts of science for all levels of knowledge adults kid professor or noob alike. Truly amazing. I have only been actively learning about spiders for about a year and 5 months and the more I learn the more amazed I become and the more I want to learn 😁 again thank you for your time and answers . I will stop bugging you now but I may ask more later lol . Thanks.
 
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