What are some cool facts about spiders?

Guy Lewy

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(sorry for sort-of repost, I totally misnamed the last one and can't find a way of deleting it!)

I'm writing an article about spider biology for Lifemachines, a website I run, and was wondering what I'm missing! I need a cool system or mechanism in spiders which would be interesting even to someone who isn't a spider fan, but is interested in how things work and nature in a sort of mechanistic way.

Here's the last one for a feel of the style: http://www.lifemachines.co.uk/single-post/2016/10/09/Why-a-spider-is-like-a-waterbed

Looking forward to your replies :)

Guy
 

Biollantefan54

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  • Spider silk is one of the strongest known materials.
  • The family Uloboridae lack venom and kill their prey by crushed it with thousands of layers of silk.
  • Certain species let their slings eat them alive, Eresidae and some others I believe.
  • The genus Argyrodes are kleptoparasitic meaning they live on the edges of other spiders webs and wait to steal prey from them.
  • The family Mimetidae go into other spiders webs and pretend to be prey until the spider gets near, and then they kill them.
 

Estein

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From a "sort of mechanistic" standpoint, you could write about how spider legs function through hydraulic pressure, which is pretty awesome.

Even a rundown of some cool predation tactics would be neat. Some were listed above (nice, @Biollantefan54 !), and some others are the bolas spider (throws a snare) and the ogre-faced spider (throws a silk net).
 

Estein

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From a "sort of mechanistic" standpoint, you could write about how spider legs function through hydraulic pressure, which is pretty awesome.

Even a rundown of some cool predation tactics would be neat. Some were listed above (nice, @Biollantefan54 !), and some others are the bolas spider (throws a snare) and the ogre-faced spider (throws a silk net).
Oh! I just saw your other post in which you mentioned that you already wrote about spider hydraulics. Perhaps you could discuss the process of molting? Now THAT'S pretty insane. Still blows my mind every time I watch it happen.
 

KezyGLA

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G. rosea, just like all other "Docile" Ts can have a mood swing at any time.

I had a 10 year old rosea moult this year. She is having mood swings and she is a bit grouchy when the enclosure opened. Up until laSt moult she was calm as anyhing.

Feeders can annoy your T. When the arent hungry the feeders shood be removed. I believe they can stress them out along with causing other problems.
 

Biollantefan54

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Oh, you could also do something about stridulation or that some sp. of Cyclosa use debris to make fake spiders in their webs to scare away predators. This is a terrible pic of one I found in Alabama, I am guessing it is C. caroli since that was the only sp. I saw.
13937847_979799632118455_6784311818586852105_o.jpg
 

Andrea82

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Tarantula (i have no experience whatsoever with true spiders) can take of damaged legs by closing the valves, and regenerate new ones.
 

Chris LXXIX

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Another fact about (female) P.murinus. If you gently whistle to those " 'O Sole mio " they seem to enjoy. This morning before going to work I did that and she went out of her burrow for investigate, but with a very "calm" mood u_u

I'm not sure now if I'm pretty good at or it's thanks to the benevolent Goddess 0.1 Pelinobius muticus PBUH -- Peace Be Upon Her -- delicate, benign, lovely hissing influence but.
 

Estein

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Its interesting that they have 8 eyes yet barely see.
Spider eyes would definitely be another cool topic. Not only can spiders generally be identified to family by their eye arrangements (and number of eyes), but many families have dramatic differences in how and how well they use their sense of sight. Jumping spiders' (Salticidae) main pair of eyes is too closely positioned for depth perception, so they use the defocus method to calculate how far away something is. WHAAAAT.
 

viper69

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The blue color seen in tarantulas' setae, and likely spiders, is not generated by any pigments or their diet. If you want more info google it up to learn how they make blue.
 

Chris LXXIX

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Three words: diving bell spider. One of the most outlandish arachnids in existence imo.
Tell me nothing. We used to have here Argyroneta aquatica here in Lombardy time ago. I was a children. Then the pollution and the man made actions ruined his habitat and only few remained.
 

Misty Day

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[QUOTE="Biollantefan54, post: 2537936, member: 6504]
  • The genus Argyrodes are kleptoparasitic meaning they live on the edges of other spiders webs and wait to steal prey from them.
  • The family Mimetidae go into other spiders webs and pretend to be prey until the spider gets near, and then they kill them.
[/QUOTE]

I used to just consider all spiders instinctual with little to no intelligence, but those sounds like some highly intelligent spiders to me.
 

Moonohol

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Tell me nothing. We used to have here Argyroneta aquatica here in Lombardy time ago. I was a children. Then the pollution and the man made actions ruined his habitat and only few remained.
What a shame. Ever since I first saw one in the film Microcosmos, A. aquatica has been one of my favorite arachnids. I really want to observe and photograph one in the wild some day. It's so incredibly saddening that mankind is slowly destroying the habitat of these incredible creatures. But thankfully we're all here fighting the good fight and keeping CB arachnids thriving! :D
 

basin79

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A spider can render even the most intellectually sound and calm person hysterical just by presenting themselves in their eyeline.
 
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