Description and features
The class of arachnids is diverse and includes a huge number of species. Scientists number them somewhere around one hundred thousand. Spiders are only one of the orders of this class, and despite their relatively small size, it is not for nothing that they are considered far from harmless creatures. This especially applies to representatives of the migalomorph infraorder.
Specimens of this type are usually larger than their relatives, and also differ in the structure of their oral chelicerae (the word itself is translated literally: claws-whiskers, which says something about their purpose and structure). In these spiders, they are associated with poisonous glands that open in them, ducts.
The family of tarantula spiders is part of this infraorder. Its members are very large. It happens that the leg span reaches 27 cm and even exceeds these figures.
All species of tarantulas are venomous, but with varying degrees of toxicity. Some are almost harmless, but most should be considered quite dangerous. As a rule, their bite cannot be fatal for a healthy adult, but it causes acute pain and can cause convulsions, fever and even hallucinations.
When defending itself, a tarantula can shed hairs from its paws, which leads to allergic reactions in humans.
In addition, the effects of the poison of the described creatures can be lethal for children and small animals.
Fortunately, such living organisms are practically never found in Europe, except that some species live in Portugal, Spain, Italy and areas close to these countries. However, as for other continents, the range of these spiders here is quite extensive.
After all, they almost completely inhabit the south of America and Africa, and are widespread in Australia and on the islands adjacent to this continent.
In the photo of the tarantula, you can see that the appearance of such creatures is unique and exotic. The shaggy long legs of such spiders make a particularly strong impression. Moreover, purely visually, it turns out that these creatures have six pairs of limbs. They are covered with bright, thick and significant hairs.
But upon closer examination, only four pairs of legs turn out to be, and four more processes, shorter and located in front, are the chelicerae and the so-called pedipalps.
The colors of such spiders are striking and amaze with their exotic colors, but the range of colors becomes especially rich after the tarantula moults . This is a very interesting and characteristic process for such living beings. Their body is built from the cephalothorax - the front part and abdomen, connected only by a jumper. They are covered with a chitinous exoskeleton - a special shell.
This is a frame that retains moisture during the heat, and like armor that protects from damage. During molting, it is discarded and replaced with another. But it is precisely at such moments that the animal grows intensively, increasing its parameters sometimes almost fourfold.
During molting, tarantulas can increase significantly in size
Such creatures boast four pairs of eyes, they are located in the front. The pedipalps serve as organs of touch. Chelicerae are used primarily for hunting and defense, but also for dragging prey and digging burrows.
And the hairs on your legs should be considered more than just decoration. These are finely structured organs that capture smells and sounds with their inherent sensitivity.
Description
The body structure of a harvest spider can be different, depending on its species: in some it is spherical, in others it is very elongated, in others it has a clear division into the cephalothorax and abdomen. Body sizes can range from 2 to 10 mm. The length of the legs can also vary. For example, in species that live in the wild under the forest floor, the legs are short and their size is comparable to the size of the body.
If we consider the haymaking spiders that are adjacent to humans, then they have very long legs.
As for similar characteristics, all harvesting spiders have four pairs of legs, with false segmentation on the legs. They also have four pairs of eyes, one of which bears two large medial eyes, the other three pairs are lateral.
On a note! Representatives of species living in caves have only three pairs of eyes, and the medial ones are missing!
These spiders got their name due to their external resemblance to harvestmen, which is why they are often confused. However, it should be remembered that harvestmen are not spiders, they are representatives of a separate order and are unable to weave webs.
Kinds
This family has many representatives, including thirteen subfamilies, divided into a huge number of species (according to official data, there are about 143 of them). The characteristics of their representatives are very characteristic, so the most interesting varieties deserve special description.
1. The Goliath tarantula is a creature famous for its size, which, including the length of its legs, is about 28 cm. Previously, such a specimen of the planet’s fauna was considered the largest of the spiders.
But the very beginning of the 21st century was marked by the discovery of Heteropoda maxima, a relative in the order that lives in the tropics and is a couple of centimeters larger than the Goliath, which means its size is not limiting.
The color of such a spider is brown, sometimes with shades of red or light colors. Such creatures live in the swamps of South America. The weight of males of the species can reach up to 170 g.
Goliath is considered the largest tarantula spider
2. Black and white Brazilian tarantula spider . Representatives of this variety are slightly smaller than the previous one. Their sizes usually do not exceed 23 cm. They are famous for their intensive growth and bright, elegant, although black and white coloring.
The spider has an unpredictable and aggressive character. Often such creatures hide among stones and under tree roots, but sometimes they crawl out into open areas.
3. Metallic tarantula (arboreal) is also a remarkable species that is found only exclusively in southern India. But in this case, the spider stands out from its relatives not at all in its size, growing no more than 21 cm, but in its brightness and bewitching, fabulous beauty.
Its body and paws are blue with a metallic tint, decorated with wonderful patterns. Such creatures, uniting in groups, live among rotten old trees.
4. Smith's brachypelma is a species found in the southern United States and Mexico. The size of such spiders usually does not exceed 17 cm. The color can be black or dark brown with the addition of red and orange areas, in some cases decorated with a yellow or white border; The frequent hairs on the body are light pink.
This species does not have a toxic poison and is not considered particularly aggressive.
In the photo is the Brachypelma Smith spider
As for the size of the tarantula , this has already been mentioned. But the parameters were given earlier taking into account the leg span. However, the body itself of the largest spiders is about 10 cm in size, and in small species it can be less than 3 cm. It should also be mentioned that tarantulas change their color with age and as they mature.
Lifestyle and habitat
Different types of such spiders take root in a wide variety of geographical areas and conditions. Among these representatives of the fauna, settlers of arid places and even deserts are known. There are species that prefer equatorial forests with their tropical humidity.
Arboreal tarantulas spend their days on bushes and trees, in their crowns among the branches. They weave webs and roll them into tubes. Others prefer solid ground and find shelter in this environment. There are quite a few species of spiders that dig holes for themselves that go deep underground. They cover their entrances with cobwebs.
Tarantulas can live in burrows (burrows) and trees
In addition, the habitat of these creatures largely depends on the stage of development of the individual. For example, as a larva, it spends its days in a hole, and when it grows up it begins to go out onto the ground (this happens in semi-arboreal and terrestrial species). That is, the behavior pattern of these spiders may change as they grow and mature.
Regarding the growth stages of such living beings. Newborn spiders that have just emerged from eggs are called nymphs. During this period of development, they usually do not need food.
Next, the nymphs, undergoing a couple of molts, during which rapid growth of the body occurs, turn into a larva (this is what spiders are called until they reach adulthood).
The hairs covering the body of such creatures are saturated with poison. For their owners themselves, this is a very useful acquisition they received from Mother Nature. Tarantulas use such fur shoots to protect nests by weaving them into webs.
Also, anticipating danger, they spread poisonous hair around themselves, thereby providing themselves with protection. If they enter the body through inhalation, even a person may experience painful symptoms: weakness, suffocation, burning - all these are signs of an allergic reaction.
Tarantula spiders are not particularly mobile. And if they break this rule, then only if there is a good reason. For example, female tarantulas, if they are well-fed, can sit in their shelters for several months. But even hungry individuals are motionless and patient. They are in their ambushes and stalk their prey.
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Queens of spiders: spider matriarchy
Araneae ,
Aranei - a order of arthropod animals, all spiders are predators, feeding on arthropods, often even on their comrades - these are “man-eaters” among arthropods.
since many species are distinguished by “misanthropy”, they are loners by nature. It's no secret to many that if you lock 2 spiders in a jar, they will eat each other. There is even a saying about human relationships: “Like spiders in a jar.”
But they eat, this is too loud a phrase, in fact, having caught prey with the help of a web, the spider kills it with poison and injects digestive juices into it. After some time (usually several hours), the resulting nutrient solution is sucked out; a kind of vampirism.
The spider consists of two parts: the cephalothorax and abdomen, connected by a stalk. The cephalothorax bears an oral apparatus consisting of chelicerae - the lower lip and chewing blades and four pairs of walking legs. Spiders have a brain, which can occupy 20% to 30% of the volume of the cephalothorax and a heart. On the front convex frontal part of the cephalothorax there are 8 eyes, 6 rarely 2, usually located in two straight or curved rows.
Many spiders molt, i.e. they shed their skin like snakes.
All spiders have arachnoid warts on their abdomen, in most cases there are 3 pairs of them. When released, the web is a liquid mass that quickly hardens in air, forming threads. A pencil-thin thread of spider silk can stop a Boeing 747 flying at full speed.
The web, however, is not all the same even for one spider - one, weaved so that the spider can go down it and climb into its home, it is thin. Young individuals, as soon as they grow a little, their mother sends them out, and they fly off in a web like a parachute to new habitats separate from each other (flying spiderlings with the onset of warm weather climb into houses in this way; they are the only living creatures I have) .
Nests are built with even stronger webs and prey is caught.
Males feel when the moment of puberty arrives and go in search of a female. When they find her, they continue to court her for quite a long time! after her and only then they fertilize. Each species has its own ways of seducing females, this can be a dance or offering a “gift”, in addition, all spiders emit pheromones that can turn a female’s head without any extraneous actions. In order for the female to find the way to her chosen one, spiders often draw a thin thread of web along the ground itself (romantic masochists).
Females, for all their aggressiveness, at such moments become more loyal and balanced for a while. In males, the fertilization organs are located in the front paws - bulbs, and in females on the surface of the body. Quite often it happens that after fertilization, the female eats the spider, sometimes this even begins directly at the mating itself, she “kisses” his hickey with a deadly kiss. He pulls away for a while and starts mating again. And the female continues to suck the juices out of him. And as soon as the male completes his function, he dies.
Some males try to avoid this fate, some obey without objection. In particular, suicide or kamikaze spiders are red-backed Australian spiders, which consider the main and last thing in their life to be fertilization of the female.
Some smart males (tarantulas) spin a web through which their seed gets to the females (that’s artificial insemination!), The females then build cocoons from these same threads for future offspring. But after that, females sometimes still find them.
One way or another, mainly after mating, males do not live long.
After a few months, the female lays a cocoon containing from 50 to 2000 eggs, depending on the species. The cocoon is guarded by the female for 6-7 weeks. All this time the female remains near the cocoon and is very aggressive.
This way of life has existed for 400 million years! You can’t argue with nature, because in ancient civilizations there was matriarchy, many women feel hatred for men after “mating” among people to this day. This is due to the psychology of “feelings of pollution, defilement and humiliation.”
In symbolism, the Spider is the feminine principle, the lunar sign, the Great Mother in the form of the weaver of fate. The web is a symbol of the creative forces of the Universe. African, Indian, and Indian tribes had a belief in the Cosmic Spider - the Creator, who weaves the thread of life from his own substance, attaches all people to himself and decides their destinies. The Indians made talismans with his image against bad weather.
In India, the web is a symbol of the Mayan illusion associated with the fatality of existence.
There is also a positive meaning - creativity, favorable omens, but still it is a dark symbol.
Spider tattoos have also been popular since ancient times, and oddly enough, most men, apparently, the desire to get such a tattoo is a subconscious awareness of their masochism or simple ignorance of the essence of things.
For women, the choice of such a tattoo is quite logical if she has become a man-hater.
It can also be represented by the Japanese characters "kumo" - spider.
Both hieroglyphs begin with the qualifier “mushi” - insect, because. Since ancient times, spiders have been revered as such. Further, in the first, the hieroglyph “shiru” is added - to know; in the second, “syu” is cinnabar. Those. literally, “smart insect, red insect.” The hieroglyphs, as is known, came from China, apparently referring to the contracts of black widow wolf spiders, see below.
Today there are 40,000 species on the planet. In Russia and the countries of the former USSR it includes 2888 species. The main ones:
Mygalomorph spiders/ tarantulas
(Theraphosidae) - adult individuals are characterized by large sizes, sometimes exceeding 20 cm in leg span. Tarantulas inhabit all continents except Antarctica. Spiders are quite omnivorous and can eat a variety of food: flies, cockroaches, bloodworms, maggots, frogs, small rodents, birds, fish and smaller spiders. Well-fed spiders, as a rule, show little activity: adult female tarantulas often do not leave their hiding places for months.
The protective hairs on tarantulas are poisonous; they weave their hairs into the web, thereby protecting their nest. Nymphs (spiders) in most cases do not feed and can live together for some time - there is no threat of “cannibalism”.
In most cases, male tarantulas die within a year after reaching sexual maturity (months if they manage to mate with a female, although he fertilizes her with the help of a web and after that some lucky ones manage to run away as far as possible), while females can live for many years, or even decades. As they grow older, spiders of many species change color significantly. Even the calmest tarantula can bite its owner if it senses danger, although if this is practiced from childhood, it can become tame. In a number of European languages, tarantulas, and sometimes all large spiders, are often called tarantula. In Russian, the word tarantula is used to designate spiders of another group, hence the confusion.
The largest spider from the tarantula family is Theraphosa Blonda
(Theraphosa blondi). Capable of hunting frogs, toads, lizards, mice and even small snakes. It was discovered in Venezuela in 1965 and lives in South America: its paw span is up to 28 centimeters. The size of the body of the female Theraphoza Blonda reaches 9 cm, and the male - 8.5 cm.
Mexican red-knee tarantula spider
(Grammostola rosea) is one of the most popular species of spiders bred in captivity, due to its large size and bright colors, it is the most calm and non-aggressive. Body size is up to 7-8 cm, paw span is up to 17 cm. It feeds on small lizards, rodents and large insects. Life expectancy is up to 30 years.
Chilean pink tarantula -
The approximate lifespan of female Chilean tarantulas is up to 15-20 years. The spider is painted in shades of brown - chestnut, brown, sometimes pink, about 15-16 cm.
Digger spiders
(Atypidae)
are
atypical tarantulas of the mygalomorphic family; they live in colonies consisting of individual burrows, the depth of which sometimes reaches half a meter. The walls of the burrow are lined with cobwebs, which continue to form a tube used by the spider to catch prey. In the fall (breeding season), males leave their burrows to search for females. Mating takes place in the tube. The female does not eat him in the process, after which the couple spends even a few more months together until he dies a natural death, and only then his corpse is eaten by the female.
Poisonous funnel web spiders (Sydney)
(Hexathelidae)
-
the color is usually black, matte or shiny. There are no hairs on the carapace. The size of the spiders is medium or small, 1-5 cm. The bite is significantly poisonous to people in poor health (death occurred in most cases).
New Zealand cellar spider
(Porrhothele antipodiana) - live under rocks, stones and logs; They build cobweb burrows; the outside of the burrow entrance is shrouded in cobwebs in order to catch prey; they can feast on snails and mice. A spider bite is painful, causing swelling, itching or numbness of the organ where the bite occurred. A person bitten by this spider needs to disinfect the bite site, otherwise he may get blood poisoning. This species was used in the Lord of the Rings trilogy by New Zealand director Peter Jackson as the giant spider Shelob (in general, it is actually incorrect to call spiders spiders, since the male gender does not live long).
Wolf spiders
(Lycosidae) - a family of developed, fast and strong spiders, ranging in size from 1 to 4 cm. They unite the tarantulas of the Old World and the wolf spiders of the New World. Wolf spiders depend on their camouflage to protect themselves from predators. Almost all species blend into their surrounding habitat. Wolf spiders are natural stabilizers of insect populations, making them very important in the ecosystem and can be considered useful in agriculture. The color is usually dark: brown, gray or black, but light-colored spiders are also occasionally found. Wolf spiders are loners, like all spiders in general. They wander around their territory in search of food or live in burrows, shrouded inside with a thick layer of cobwebs, leaving them at night to hunt insects or other smaller spiders. These spiders do not weave webs directly as traps. Stray species of these spiders, having overtaken their prey, jump onto the victim and begin to eat it with the help of their front legs. Before jumping, the spider insures itself by attaching a web to the place from which the jump will be made. After mating, the female does not eat the male, but finds a secluded corner in which she weaves a cocoon in which she will lay her eggs. After laying eggs, the female wraps the cocoon in several more layers to give it a spherical appearance. The female will wear this ball for the next 2-3 weeks at the tip of the abdomen, where it will be firmly attached to the spinning organ. After hatching, the female takes the young onto her abdomen and carries them around until they are no longer able to obtain food on their own, and the males are eaten when they themselves die. Those. - This is the most family species of spiders.
Tarantulas
(Lycosa) is a genus of large poisonous higher spiders from the family of wolf spiders. The body length of large representatives reaches 3.5 cm. They live in arid areas: steppes, deserts. During the day, they hide in vertical burrows, the depth of which reaches 60 cm. At night, spiders climb to the surface and actively move along the ground, hunting insects. The web is used only as a covering for the walls of the burrow and in the construction of the egg cocoon. Although tarantula venom is fatal for some animals, it does not pose a danger to human life.
South Russian tarantula
(Lycosa singoriensis) - from 2.5 to 3.5 cm. The bite, found in the south of Russia Mizgir or the southern Russian tarantula (Maman says, she often encountered them, drowned them in holes, evil children), is painfully reminiscent of a hornet sting and causes swelling. At the same time, the blood of a tarantula contains an antidote to the secretion of its poisonous glands, therefore, during a fight between two tarantulas, death is unlikely, although loss of blood can cause it.
It is almost impossible to distinguish it from the tarantula, which also has a cross on its back and striped white legs, and some species of tarantula, in which the cross on its back is even more pronounced.
Apulian tarantula
(Lycosa tarentula) is a relatively large species, 6 cm long. Distributed in the city of Taranto, Italy. It gained its fame due to the fact that in the Middle Ages it was considered poisonous. Legends were formed about him, passed down from generation to generation, and the emergence of various epidemic diseases called Tarantism was associated with him. It has now been proven that this species is not poisonous. According to legend, the bite of such spiders led to illness, and anyone bitten was doomed to death, and the only cure was considered a special dance - the tarantella. Now, several centuries later, opinions are expressed that the tarantella was a simple excuse for some closed feasts, which the authorities of that time could condemn.
Black Widow
(Latrodectus mactans) - also belongs to the wolf spider family. The adult spider is black in color and has two reddish or yellowish triangles on its abdomen that look like an hourglass. Immature females have red spots with white outlines on the abdomen. The length of the spider's body is about 5 cm. After mating, the female eats the male, but in her entire life the female can mate only once (therefore she is unfairly overestimated), although she can store the male's seed for a long time for artificial insemination. However, the name of this particular female spider has served as a synonym for female maniacs.
Karakurt
/
steppe spider
(Latrodectus tredecimguttatus) - the closest relative of black widows - a species of poisonous spiders, their venom is 15 times stronger than the venom of a rattlesnake, and is one of the most poisonous substances of organic origin on Earth. It has an average size: female 10-20 mm, male 4-7 mm. The body is black, the male and female have red spots on the abdomen, sometimes with a white border around each spot. It does not attack animals or humans unless disturbed. But, female bites can be fatal to humans and such animals. Found in the steppe regions of Russia and the south.
Recluse spider
(Loxoceles reclusa) is the next representative of wolf spiders. This spider became famous, first of all, for its bites, which literally dissolve human skin, forming continuous gangrene on it, which only grows over time. Previously, treatment was carried out by removing damaged human tissue, now - with the help of antibiotics and hormones. If treated in a timely manner, serum is used. Color brown. The head and chest are black, somewhat reminiscent of a violin (sometimes called the “violin spider”). The dimensions of this spider are small - up to one centimeter in length and half a centimeter in width. The lifespan of an individual is one to two years. Clearly structured trapping nets are not woven; they are usually made with random threads. Loves shady places, found in abundance in basements, sheds, garages, attics, toilets, pipe systems, and manholes. Spiders can take refuge in shoe boxes, boots, under furniture, behind baseboards and paintings. In general, they are found where there is a tree and twilight.
Black fat head/Vinnabar head
(Eresus cinnaberinus)
-
Body length of the female is 8-16, male 6-11 mm. Females are velvety black. Males have a black cephalothorax, an orange-red upper abdomen with four round black spots with white edges and usually two small black dots. The front two pairs of legs of males are black with white rings, the hind ones are orange. Distributed in steppe regions, including Altai. Lives in the image of tarantulas, wolf spiders, and is close to black widows.
Orb weavers/cross weavers
- on the upper side of the abdomen there are white or light brown spots that form a cross. The size of the female is 20-25 mm, the male - 10-11 mm. Widely distributed in Europe. Its main prey are flies and mosquitoes. If something not very edible (for example, a poisonous wasp) gets caught in the web, the spider can help it free itself by tearing off the web. The crossfish can deal with caught prey in different ways. If he is very hungry, he can immediately start eating, but more often he drags it into a secluded corner or simply entangles it in a web and leaves it until a more opportune moment; in general, he loves to play. The poison can also be dangerous to humans. After mating, the male, as usual, dies, and the female weaves a cocoon for the eggs from the web.
I fell in love with these creatures...
Nutrition
It is in connection with its feeding habits that such a spider received the name: tarantula . And this story happened at the end of the 18th century in Venezuela, when a group of scientists discovered a huge spider in the tropical forests, eagerly eating hummingbirds.
Then even one of the expedition members, Maria Merian, made a colorful sketch of a tarantula, impressed by what she saw. And he soon made it into the newspapers, creating a certain fame for all the spiders of this family, which became the reason for the name.
In reality, the organisms of such spiders are not often able to digest bird meat. That is, such cases do occur, but rarely. Basically, these creatures eat insects, small arachnids, and can even encroach on their own relatives.
Tarantulas are active predators and can even eat their own relatives
But they are definitely predators. They ambush their victims. And to catch them, pre-prepared traps are used. The diet of these spiders includes: birds, small rodents, frogs, in some cases fish, as well as smaller prey - bloodworms, cockroaches, flies.
Reproduction and lifespan
tarantula spider matures faster than any of the females, but after that it lives no more than a year, and if it manages to mate, then even less. His readiness to have offspring can be guessed by his characteristic external signs. Firstly, bulbs are formed on his pedipalps - natural vessels for sperm.
Males also develop special hooks called tibal hooks, which play a certain role during mating. These devices are needed to hold the partner, as well as protection from her, since the chosen ones of spiders can turn out to be very aggressive individuals.
With the help of arranged webs and hairs on the body, the tarantula senses everything around
In preparation for a meeting with the “lady,” males weave a special web, secreting a drop of family fluid onto it, then grab it with hooks and begin searching for a partner.
But even when the spider is there and responds to the call, showing consent with all her appearance, intercourse does not occur without performing the required rituals. Without them, spiders are unable to determine whether they belong to the same species. This may include bodily shaking or paw tapping. Each variety has its own mating movements.
The intercourse itself can be instantaneous, but sometimes it lasts for hours. And the process consists of the male’s pedipalps transferring his sperm inside the partner’s body.
Such games are completely unsafe for spiders. Some of them may suffer even before copulation if the couple does not get along with each other (this happens more often in aggressive species). And after the act itself, the male usually flees for his life, since if he does not show agility, he may well end up eaten by a hungry female.
Next, the process of egg formation occurs in the spider’s body. And when the time comes, she forms a nest of cobwebs, where those same eggs are laid. Their number varies, in some species it is in the tens, and in others it reaches a couple of thousand.
After completing this, the spider makes a special spherical cocoon and incubates it. This period lasts differently for different species (it can last twenty days or more than a hundred). Moreover, the female can guard her offspring with aggressiveness and zeal, and can even eat the entire farm if she is hungry.
That's the nature of spiders. From the mentioned cocoons, nymphs first emerge, molt and grow, turning first into larvae and then into adult spiders.
Nature has given females a longer lifespan than their male counterparts. Spiders are considered the champions among arthropods in terms of lifespan. The record is 30 years old. But, strictly speaking, the duration of the life cycle depends on the species, and is sometimes measured in ten years, but in some varieties it is only a few years.
Feeding the cross spider
The main diet of crosses consists of a variety of flies, mosquitoes and other small insects, which it can eat about a dozen at a time. A sticky substance is first released from the spider's arachnoid wart, which only becomes a strong thread in the air.
For one catching net, a crossman can produce and spend about 20 meters of silk. Moving along the web, its owner touches only the radial threads, which are not sticky, so he himself does not stick.
During the hunt, the spider waits in the center of the trap or is located on the signal thread. When the prey sticks to the net and tries to get out, the web begins to vibrate; the hunter feels even the slightest vibration with his sensitive limbs.
The spider injects a dose of poison into its prey and, depending on the situation, can eat it immediately or leave it for later. If an insect acts as a backup source of food, the spider will wrap it in a web and hide it securely in its shelter.
If an insect that is too large or poisonous gets caught in the trap, the spider breaks off the web and gets rid of it. The spider spider avoids contact with insects that lay eggs on other insects or animals, since the large abdomen of the spider can become an excellent place for larvae.
The spider's digestion process occurs in the body of the victim with the help of digestive juice. The cross spider, like other spiders, cannot digest food on its own.
