Black and white spiders in the house: how do they breed and what do they eat? Reproduction of spiders at home At Kavo and how spiders develop.

Spider breeding

Today, more and more often, our compatriots have exotic pets in their homes and, moreover, decide not only to take care of them, but also to breed them. But, as you yourself understand, if the features of its content are one thing (not a very complicated science that requires you, first of all, desire and skills), then breeding spiders is a completely different, more complex and responsible task. If you are not afraid of difficulties, and have set yourself such a goal as breeding spiders (quite a profitable occupation, by the way), you have the strength and desire, and time and opportunity, then our publication will help you, which we decided to devote to the breeding of spiders at home. So, stock up on patience and attention - today you will learn a lot of useful and interesting information, and how you learn it will depend on whether you can breed spiders in your terrarium or not ...

Physiology of house spiders

In fact, the physiology, and indeed the biology of reproduction of domestic spiders, are topics that have been little studied. There are general data, based on which we can draw some conclusions. So, for example, young spiders, regardless of their gender, lead a similar lifestyle, and it is almost impossible to distinguish them by behavior. True, the hint to the owner of the spiders and the answer to the question - where is the female spider and where is the male - is the appearance of such exotic pet. So,

sexually mature males, as a rule, always have a bright color, proportional and elongated legs, a special arrangement of pedipalps, and are distinguished by great mobility.

By the way, they reach puberty earlier than females, which look somewhat gray against the background of such bright “men”, behave awkwardly, and are characterized by inactivity. For male spiders, this is 1.5 years, for females, this period of puberty occurs when she is 2-3 years old.

Such a time gap in matters of puberty excludes the possibility of inbreeding.

Features of the behavior of male spiders

Before mating begins, a mature male spider begins to weave a special web, which has a 3- or 4-angled shape. On the underside of such a web, he releases a drop of inseminating fluid. After such a “network” in every sense of the word is ready, the male proceeds to search for a female. His behavior becomes overly active, he moves around the terrarium day and night ...

In nature, during this period, male spiders can even cover a distance of 9 kilometers per night in order to find a female.

The spider is looking for a "lady of the heart" interesting way – using only the organs of touch. He follows the trail of the female and almost always finds her. But, it is quite clear that in the conditions of living in a terrarium - whether he will find a female for mating or not - will depend on you, as the owner of the spider.

Spider mating

If you seriously decide to start breeding spiders, then take care of a neutral territory for mating these creatures and a female spider in advance. And, after you notice that your spider has begun to weave a ritual web - start trying to cross spiders. To do this, first place a female spider in a neutral terrarium, and then a male spider.

If the female spider has other plans and the “children” item is not included in them, most likely she will attack the male spider. In this case, it is recommended to immediately resettle the male from the terrarium. Since the struggle between spiders for territory - the female now perceives the male as a potential invader of her square centimeters, may end in the death of one of the spiders or self-mutilation and severed limbs. By the way, many mistakenly think that the female eats the male spider. Well, it doesn't always happen that way. If the male pack is strong enough - he can handle the female and then, instead of thinking where to attach the little spiders, you will think about where to get another female, instead of the one that died in the paws of the male spider.

In the event that the female spider is ready to mate, she will initially simply ignore the male. The task of that will be to attract her attention with a ritual dance, and to lure the female out of the shelter, where she could hide at the sight of an alien spider. After that, the male begins to carefully approach the female, who will behave quite calmly. Although, there are cases when the female herself attracted the male spider by drumming her paws on the substrate. After such an “invitation”, the spider begins the mating process, which lasts for several seconds. At the end of them, he quickly runs away to the other end of the terrarium, as the spider can change her mood and attack him. It is recommended to remove the male immediately after mating, in order to avoid unpleasant excesses.

At one time, the male is able to fertilize several females. Similarly, a female can mate with several males in one season.

Features of the behavior of the female spider

The structure of the female spider

Depending on many factors - the season, the temperature in the terrarium, the humidity index, the availability of food, and the fertilization of eggs in the uterus can occur 1-8 months after mating.

The female lays eggs and wraps them into a cocoon. The cocoon itself consists of 2 parts, fastened with edges. It is noteworthy that in order to protect against enemies, some types of spiders weave their protective hairs into the walls of the cocoon.

The female spider is very careful about her egg laying and monitors the cocoon, turns it over and can move with it inside the terrarium. In fact, there is a completely logical explanation for this behavior of hers - depending on the indicators of humidity and temperature, the female is looking for optimally comfortable conditions for her spiderlings.

If you want your venture to be successful and small spiders to appear, try not to irritate the female during this period, and protect her from stress. Since there are cases when, as a result of an experienced nervous shock, a spider ate her cocoon.

By the way, some spider breeders practice ... taking on maternal functions and after the female lays down the masonry and braids it with cobwebs, they take the cocoon from the terrarium and place it in a special container, turn such a cocoon over several times a day and monitor humidity and temperature. I would like to warn you right away that such an “incubator” is a very difficult task, therefore, we do not undertake to guarantee that you will cope with maternal duties better than the spider itself.

There are also cases when a female spider mating field laid several cocoons with a time interval of several weeks.

As for the number of eggs in such clutches, this is 30-60 eggs, but the female spider Lasiodor parahubana can lay 2500 eggs at a time!

The incubation period of eggs also depends on the type of pack itself, but on average it ranges from several weeks to 4 months. Moreover, eggs tree species spiders "mature" faster than terrestrial spider species.

The appearance of small spiders

Cocoon with spiders

When little spiders are born, they measure 3-5 millimeters, and 1.5 centimeters in leg span. Newborn spiders of arboreal species are larger than terrestrial ones, and their number is less. They are distinguished by great mobility and shyness. The slightest danger, rustle, or movement - for them serve as a signal to dig deeper into the substrate of the terrarium.

The very process of the birth of spiders is very interesting. In embryos, on the eve of this event, egg teeth are formed at the bases of the pedipalps, with the help of which they tear the egg shell from the inside. But, now they are very weak, their appendages are not dissected, the covers are thin, and they feed on the yolk sac that remains in the intestine. After the first molt inside the egg, claws appear on the legs of the spider and chelicerae develop. It's time for him to show up. He experiences the next molt already postembryonally, and now he is active, able to feed on his own baby. By the way, after his birth, it is better to plant him out of the mother's terrarium, since now the spider will perceive her little spiders not as her children, but as food. What can you do, such laws of Nature...

- these are animals that since ancient times have caused both interest and fear in people. Each spider is interesting for its unique features of living, obtaining food, and reproduction.

In this article, we will cover these topics, consider the reasons for the appearance of cobwebs in our homes and study effective ways to remove spiders.

Today on our planet there is about 40 thousand species of spiders. Only a few of them live in Russia. For the most part, they live in open nature, but quite often they appear in people's homes.

In fact, only a few species can live indoors. Spiders and cobwebs in the house often scare people, and you should understand that these arthropods are not interested in people, they are afraid of them and will never attack first.

Black and white house spiders

The most common domestic spider species are:

• haymaker, which has a small body and very long legs, reaching a length of 5 cm.
• Gray house spider.
• Tramp.
• Black house spider. They live in the house and weave a tubular web in the corners, which is a serious trap for its victims. They are quite large in size, their length is about 13 mm. They bite a person extremely rarely, but if this happens, it is very unpleasant and painful, since it can cause such consequences as allergies, swelling, vomiting, dizziness and general malaise of the bitten.
• white spiders There are different types and live in different countries. So, for example, in the southern part of Russia, as well as in the countries of the Middle East, you can meet Karakut. Africa is home to the White Lady. IN North America, southern part of Europe, Japan and Russia there is a "flower spider" white color. White spiders are rarely found in the house, they usually live in nature, in the garden, in the garden, in the forest, and their bite is the most dangerous for humans, and can even be fatal.

Many spider lovers keep them on purpose to add an exotic touch to their home, and they can also be classified as domestic. The most famous white spider among such pets is white-haired tarantula.

What do spiders look like?

Each type of spider looks unique. Exotic spiders that live in terrariums tend to catch the eye with their impressive size, fleecy surface and bright colors.

Domestic spiders look more modest:

• So, for example, a haymaker spider has a small body and very long legs, reaching a length of 5 cm.
• Black spiders - black or dark gray, about 13 mm in size.
• Gray spiders are very similar to black ones, having the same dimensions.
• The tramp spider is brown and light brown in color, having an elongated abdomen and long legs.

Many types of spiders differ in their speed of movement, web, search for food, appearance, but the number of legs is the same for all - there are 8 of them.

The limbs of spiders differ in size and cover, but their main functions are inherent in all types of arthropods:

1. Legs are the means of transportation for spiders. Someone has the ability to move by jumping, someone uses lateral walking, someone runs on water, and some change locations by stomping loudly.
2. The limbs are carriers of many receptors: smell, touch, balance. They help spiders recognize danger, find food.
3. The function of the paws is to weave a web. Thanks to this ability, spiders have the opportunity to get food.
4. Spider parents with tentacles hold and move their cocoon to another place. It is for these purposes that spiders have this a large number of limbs that simultaneously serve them as hands, nose, vision and even the so-called "sixth sense".

Types of spiders in Russia

There are quite a few varieties of spiders in Russia, the most common among them are:

1. Serebryanka- this is the only species that lives on the water and under it. The habitat is swampy water bodies of Russia. Refers to poisonous spiders.
2. Spider-cross living in temperate climates, on the grass and branches of bushes and trees. It has a cross-shaped pattern at the top of the abdomen. Not dangerous to humans.
3. South Russian tarantula- lives in the semi-desert and steppe regions of Russia, lives in burrows. It is a poisonous and dangerous species of spiders for humans.
4. house spiders living closely with a person and safe for him. Weave a web in the most inconspicuous corners of the room.
5. Spider knitter, which has the ability to disguise itself and become invisible. Refers to non-poisonous representatives of arachnids.
6. jumping spider- jumping small spider. It has the ability to climb glass and capture its prey without the help of a web.
7. H black widow (karakut)- the most dangerous type of spider for humans. Lives in the Astrakhan and Orenburg regions, as well as in the North Caucasus.

Are spiders insects or animals?

Many people are interested in this question, some people believe that spiders are insects, however, this is not so.

Spiders belong to the class Arachnida and belong to a species of animal, not insects, despite the incredible resemblance to the latter. Arachnids were born 300 million years before insects.

Both of these species formed separate classes that have clear differences:

• Insects: have 6 legs, belong to the class of insects such as arthropods, for the most part they are omnivorous creatures. The main divisions of the structure of insects: head, chest, abdomen, wings.
• Spiders have 8 legs, belong to the class of arachnids, the type of arthropods, are very selective in food, born hunters. It consists of only two sections - the abdomen, from which the paws grow, and the cephalothorax, on which the spider's oral apparatus is located. Has the ability to weave a web.

What do spiders eat?

Spiders, despite their small size, consume a large amount of food, however, they may not eat for a long time - from a month to a year. An interesting fact is that in a year the mass of food eaten by spiders exceeds the amount of food consumed by all people in the world.

Each species of spider has its own ways of obtaining food:

1. Creating traps using web weaving. Caught prey is processed by digestive juice, corroding it from the inside, after which the spider swallows it.
2. Search for food by spitting out sticky saliva, which allows you to attract food to yourself.

What do spiders eat:

1. The main diet of both street and domestic spiders are insects. Spiders in a private house feed on flies, mosquitoes, crickets, butterflies, mealworms, cockroaches, grasshoppers, woodlice larvae. Read the answer to the question for more details.
2. Spiders living in burrows or on the surface of the soil love to feast on beetles, orthopterans, and even snails and earthworms.
3. Some species hunt at night. So, for example, the queen spider creates a trap for moths at night.
4. Exotic spiders, due to their impressive size, choose for themselves more big booty. So, tarantulas prefer to hunt frogs, lizards, other spiders, mice, and even small birds. And the Brazilian tarantula is able to catch and eat medium-sized snakes and snakes.
5. Spiders living on the water catch tadpoles, small fish or midges floating on the surface of the water with the help of a web.
6. Some spiders use vegetable world: pollen, plant leaves, cereal grains.

How do spiders give birth?

By nature, sexually mature males differ significantly from females in their small size, bright colors, and short life span. They are found in nature, as a rule, they are much rarer.

In some species of spiders, males are not found at all. It is believed that the female spider has the ability to develop eggs virgin, therefore, can breed offspring without even being fertilized.

The male independently fills the genitals with sperm and goes in search of the female. Some species of spiders bring a gift to the "lady of the heart" - an insect, as attention and approval by her. Males try their best to care so as not to be eaten by the female. They perform a wedding dance - the rhythmic movement of their paws along their own web.

Some types of spiders fight on the female's web, while others mate with males. Many males, in order to avoid the threat from the female, mate at the moment she has experienced a molt, while she is still helpless. Indeed, often a fertilized spider strives to eat its partner. Sometimes the male manages to escape.

Some types of spiders create families: they live in the same nest, raise offspring, share prey. There are cuckoo spiders that toss their cocoons into the nests of other relatives.

The female spider can breed at a time up to 200,000 children. Such incredibly large offspring can bring both large and very tiny species of spiders. Spider eggs go through two molts before reaching the adult stage.

An interesting fact is that spiders have the ability to independently cause their birth in the case of sick or weak offspring.

How long do spiders live?

The life expectancy of spiders depends primarily on their species. Most spiders have many enemies and rarely live to a natural death.

Spider lifespan:

• So, some live only a couple of months, while others can live for several years. Moreover, about six months is spent on the egg stage.
• The life cycle of males ends much faster than the cycle of spiders. Subject to comfortable living, males live only two years, but females can live up to ten years.

There are also such records:

• Some female tarantulas can live for over twenty years.
• Spiders of the genus Sicarius living in South America and Africa can live up to 15 years.
• Some tarantulas can live twenty years.
• It is clear that spider species that are pets of humans and live in captivity have a longer life. History knows cases when such spiders lived up to thirty years.

Are house spiders dangerous to humans?

All spiders are naturally venomous, but the dose of venom from domestic spiders is not significant for humans. Therefore, in case of a bite, which is extremely rare, you just need to treat this place with an antiseptic. They can be dangerous only for people suffering from arachnophobia (fear of arachnids).

There are benefits from several individuals living in an apartment, because they destroy insects, which, as a rule, cause discomfort and pose a danger to people. Of course, if spiders are found on every corner, this creates a feeling of aesthetic rejection and unsanitary conditions in the house, so they should be removed.

How to get rid of spiders in the house?

In order to completely forget about the spiders in your apartment, you need to use following measures spider control:

1. Create a clean living environment. Spiders are very afraid of cleanliness, so regular and thorough cleaning of the premises can bring out such tenants. Special attention should be given to the most secluded corners: the back walls of furniture, the bottom of the beds, the ceiling and walls.
2. Use special preparations from spiders: aerosols, crayons, gels, as well as ultrasonic. Such chemicals as Butox-50, Tarax, Neoron have proven themselves well.
3. Make repairs in the house. Spiders cannot stand the smell of wallpaper paste, paint and whitewash.
4. Use folk remedies, they are safer and proven over the years. The best-known remedy for spiders is crushed hazelnuts, chestnut and orange, which must be spread in all corners of the house. The smell of these fruits is unbearable for spiders.
5. Limit the access of spiders to your apartment: cover all cracks and cracks around windows and doors, check the window mesh, walls, sewers for holes, and eliminate them.
6. It is necessary to call the appropriate specialists, if they are unable to cope with the invasion of spiders.

It must be remembered that the most effective method destruction is complex.

Causes of spiders in the house

Spiders are very voracious animals. None of them will choose their place of residence where there is no food for them.

Therefore, before taking out such tenants, it is necessary to figure out where the spiders come from:

1. There are a lot of insects in your apartment: midges, cockroaches, ants, flies, mosquitoes.
2. Accessibility to the entrance. Through open windows, small cracks, flowers brought from the street, not only spiders themselves, but also insects, which these eight-legged people love so much, can get into your house.
3. Warm temperature in the house. In autumn the spiders from the street are looking for more warm place for living
4. Favorable humidity level.

Spider signs

Since ancient times, it has been believed that spiders have the ability to bring good or bad news. Almost every action performed by a spider, or the events in which a person met with him, have their own explanations in folk signs.

Spider notes:

• Spider on the street. If you meet a spider in the morning, failure awaits you, in the evening - good news. Caught in a web - expect trouble.
• Spider in the house. We saw a spider in your house - a good omen, it will help you get rid of bad thoughts and avoid quarrels. If the spider runs on the table or floor, this is a move.
• Where does it move. Creeps towards you - to profit, creeps away from you - to loss.
• How it moves. If the spider descended on the web from the ceiling - expect an unexpected guest. A spider crawling up notifies you of good news. If a spider has landed on a person’s head, a gift should be expected, on the hand - for money.
• Spiders and weather. If the spider folds its cobweb - to rain, hook the web with its face - to clear weather. If you see a spider weaving a web, then the weather will change.

Bad omens about spiders:

• Crushing a spider is a deprivation of luck and health, which is why you can’t kill spiders.
• If the spider descends the wall - to an imminent loss.
• If the newlyweds met a spider - unfortunately in marriage.
• If a girl saw a web above the door - to the betrayal of her partner.
• The web near the icons - to the bad news.

If the meeting with the spider still upsets you, you should not be offended by it, since it is just a messenger of upcoming events.

Conclusion

There is a variety of types of spiders, but we can only meet a few of them in everyday life.

Spiders feed on insects, so if they are wound up in your home or garden, do not despair, as they can save you from annoying ants, bugs, mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches. In addition, these arthropods may bring you some news.

At the exclamation of "spider", most people will cringe, because they do not associate this word with anything good. The first thing that comes to mind is that spiders are poisonous, and non-poisonous ones are just unpleasant ... they look so strange, and they weave webs in the corners. But one has only to get to know these creatures better and fear will be replaced, if not with delight, then with respect. Few can compare with them in terms of diversity of structure, lifestyle and complexity of behavior. From the point of view of taxonomy, spiders make up a separate order of the class Arachnida, numbering 46,000 species! And this is not a complete list, because new types of spiders continue to be discovered until now. Their closest relatives are ticks, salpugs and scorpions, and their distant ancestors are marine arthropods like relic horseshoe crabs. But with insects, to which spiders are often ranked, they just have nothing in common.

The two-horned spider (Caerostris sexcuspidata), which lives in the arid regions of Africa, imitates a dry tree with the help of body shape, color and posture.

The body of spiders consists of a cephalothorax and abdomen, connected by a so-called stalk. The cephalothorax is usually small, and the abdomen is highly extensible, so it is much larger than the chest. In most species, the stalk is so short that it is almost invisible, but myrmecium spiders, which mimic ants, boast a thin waist.

A spider from the genus myrmecium (Myrmecium sp.) pretends to be an ant, but its cunning is easy to unravel if you count the number of legs.

All spiders have eight legs, and by this feature they can be unmistakably distinguished from insects, which have six. But besides the legs, spiders have several more pairs of limbs. The first, called chelicerae, is located near the mouth. According to their purpose, chelicerae are a cross between mandibles and hands. With their help, spiders grab and cut prey, and also hold the female during mating, cut the web - in a word, they perform delicate types of work. The second pair of limbs are pedipalps. They are also located on the cephalothorax, but are longer and more like legs. This is a specific tool that spiders use to strain the liquid, semi-digested tissues of the victim. Males have special shaped pedipalps that they use to transfer sperm to the female. At the tip of the abdomen, several pairs of limbs have changed and turned into spider warts. Each such wart is connected to a large spider gland located in the abdomen. Spider glands are different types and each of them develops its own kind of web.

An enlarged portrait of the earthen wolf spider (Trochosa terricola) allows you to delve into the details of spider anatomy: black eyes are visible on the sides of a pair of large eyes; the brown prehensile organs just below the eyes are the chelicerae, and the short, light yellow "legs" are the pedipalps.

All spiders breathe atmospheric oxygen, so their respiratory organs are lungs or tracheas. It is noteworthy that they have 4 lungs (or the same number of tracheas), and there are species that have a pair of both. Digestive system spiders is relatively simple. Almost all species have venom glands, the secret of which is fatal to their victims, and sometimes to large animals. In prey paralyzed by the toxin, the spider injects saliva containing highly active enzymes. This juice partially digests the tissues of the victim, the hunter can only suck in semi-liquid food. The outer covers of spiders are not extensible, therefore, for uniform growth, they often have to molt. During molting and immediately after it, the spider is defenseless, during this period it does not hunt, but sits in a secluded place.

The dolophones spider (Dolophones sp.) owes its disguise to a protective coloration and pose at the same time.

The most amazing thing about the anatomy of these animals is the sense organs. Compared to other invertebrates in spiders, they are well developed and diverse. The first thing you notice is the eyes. Spiders usually have eight of them, of which the two main ones face forward, and the rest are located on the top and sides of the head, which gives their owner a three-dimensional view of 180 °. True, there are species with six, four and even two eyes, but this is not so important, because all spiders see only light spots (but they distinguish colors!). The exception is stray jumping spiders, which do not weave trapping webs, but attack the victim with “bare hands”. They have developed sharp binocular vision for an accurate throw, which allows them to distinguish clear contours of prey and correctly assess the distance to it. Cave species of spiders are completely blind.

To overcome the fear of spiders forever, just look into the expressive iridescent eyes of this female jumping spider (there are four of them on the front side). The view shown in the photo - fidippus mystaceus (Phidippus mystaceus) reaches a length of about 1 cm.

The sense of touch is much more important for hunting. It is unprecedentedly sharp in all spiders. Sensitive receptors and hairs on the paws allow them to capture insignificant fluctuations not only of the web, but also of the air itself. We can say that spiders hear with their feet. It has been observed that the sound of the violin awakens the hunting instinct in some spiders. Probably, the vibrations of the air caused by the instrument remind them of the buzzing of a fly. By the way, spiders themselves are by no means voiceless. Large species can hiss, buzz, crackle, apparently to scare off enemies. Small ones sing mating songs, but so quietly that this sound is not perceptible to the human ear, but females hear it perfectly. Spiders make sound from friction. different parts bodies from each other, that is, according to the same principle as that of grasshoppers. But the abilities of spider legs are not limited to this. It turns out that spiders can smell with their feet! In fairness, it must be said that olfactory receptors are also located on the abdomen. The smell is important not so much for the capture of prey, but for procreation. Following the odorous trail of the female, eight-legged knights cover long distances and unmistakably distinguish a mate ready for mating from an immature one. Another sense that spiders have mastered to perfection is the sense of balance. Spiders, without looking, accurately determine where the top is, where the bottom is, which is not surprising for animals, most life conductive in limbo. Finally, spiders do not have taste buds, but they do have a taste. They distinguish tasty prey from tasteless prey again with their feet!

Theraphosa blondi female in natural environment.

The sizes of spiders vary widely. The body length of large tarantula spiders reaches 11 cm, one of them - Blond's teraphosa - even got into the Guinness Book of Records with a leg span of 28 cm. Crumb spiders are equally amazing. So, the smallest species - patu digua - grows to only 0.37 mm!

The patu digua spider (Patu digua) is so small that it is difficult to distinguish even at this magnification, when the papillary pattern of a human finger is visible.

Due to the spherical or pear-shaped abdomen, the outlines of the body in most spiders are closer to the circumference. But in nephil orbs, the body is elongated; in some species, the abdomen can be in the shape of a rhombus, heart, or strongly flattened.

Female Gasteracantha Cancriformis ( Gasteracantha cancriformis) in its trapping network. This type of spider got its name (loosely translated from Latin "crab-shaped prickly belly") for unusual shape bodies, unlike the crab spiders, so named for their ability to move sideways.

Body contours can be distorted by long hairs and spines.

Curved or arched gasteracantha (Gasteracantha arcuata) is a relative of the previous species, but looks even more exotic.

Jumping spiders from the genus Simetha (Simaetha) are tiny (a couple of millimeters in size) inhabitants of the tropics of Southeast Asia. All representatives of this genus wear an outfit with a gold pattern.

The length of the legs also changes. In terrestrial species, it is usually small, and spiders that weave webs and spend a lot of time in the thick of foliage are often long-legged.

The color of these arthropods can be, without exaggeration, any, but given the predatory nature of spiders, it is almost always patronizing. Accordingly, the types temperate zone usually painted inconspicuously: gray, black, brown tones- to match the earth, sand, dry grass. Tropical spiders are often bright, with complex patterns.

Tweitesia are exceptionally beautiful, whose body is encrusted with shiny spots that look like sequins.

Silver-dotted tweitesia (Thwaitesia argentiopunctata).

In terms of territory coverage, spiders can be safely called cosmopolitans. They live on all continents, in all climatic zones and in all natural environments. Spiders are most diverse in the steppes, meadows and forests, but they can also be found in deserts, tundras, caves, among the glaciers of the Arctic islands and high mountains, in fresh water, human dwellings. By the way, spiders are one of the highest mountain animals - the Himalayan jumping spider lives on Everest at an altitude of 7000 m!

Prey of the Himalayan jumping spider (Euophrys omnisuperstes) - insects brought to Everest by wind.

Habitat has left an imprint on the way of life different types. Common to all spiders is that predation and the associated tendency to loneliness, although there are exceptions. Social filoponella and stegodiphus prefer to build a common network, which they hunt together ...

Saracen stegodiphuses (Stegodyphus sarasinorum) unanimously attack an unlucky butterfly. This species lives in India, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

and the jumping spider of Kipling's bagheera, contrary to his predatory name, herbivorous.

Kipling's bagheera (Bagheera kiplingi) carries a bloodless victim in chelicera - juicy appendages that grow on the leaves of some tropical acacias. Trees thus attract ants, which along the way protect them from pests, and the herbivorous spider uses these gifts free of charge.

Most spiders are sedentary, although among the jumping spiders and wolf spiders there are many vagrants who freely roam the open spaces and attack oncoming insects of a suitable size. Homebody species are equipped in different ways. The most primitive of them hide from prying eyes in the recesses of the soil: it is more convenient to hunt and defend themselves. Sidewalk spiders (crab spiders) hide among the petals of flowers, while sitting on one flower, they gradually change color to match their shelter.

What could be more idyllic than a butterfly drinking nectar? But a tragedy is unfolding before us: the beauty actually fell into the paws of a side-walker spider, indistinguishable in color from the flower on which it hunts.

But a good disguise does not solve all problems, because it is not enough to grab a victim, you also need to keep it, and it’s tiring to look out for prey for days on end. Therefore, spiders gradually moved from active ambush hunting to more reliable and passive methods of catching prey. At the first stage, they began to dig deep minks, lining them with cobwebs for greater convenience.

The trapping tube of the Rechenberg cebrennus (Cebrennus rechenbergi) is woven from cobwebs, inlaid on the outside with grains of sand.

More advanced species began to stretch the threads from the mink to neighboring stems - an ideal notification system turned out: the owner can rest in the mink, and the crawling insect, having hooked the cobweb, will notify the spider of its approach and will be taken by surprise by the sudden appearance of a predator from under the ground. In some species, such signaling threads have evolved into complex arachnoid funnels and tubes.

Other species began to improve not the warning system, but the methods of retaining prey. To do this, they began to close the minks with earthen plugs and not simple ones, but on hinges! The spider, sitting on the inside of the hatch, keeps it closed, so that it is completely impossible to see its dwelling from the surface. As soon as the victim hooks on the signal web, the spider jumps out, drags the stunned insect into the hole, slams the lid and paralyzes with a bite. In this scenario, even strong prey has no chance to escape.

An open spider burrow with a raised lid and signal cobwebs stretching in all directions.

However, burrow hunting does not allow spiders to get off the ground, so the most advanced species stopped equipping dens and began to be content with only cobwebs, stretching it among grass, leaves and other above-ground objects.

Creating a web, the spider places it in the places of the most probable movement of prey, but so that gusts of wind, vibrations of branches, and movements of large animals do not break it.

The fact is that spiders spend a lot of deficient protein to create a web, so they value this material. They often eat a torn web, using it as a raw material for the production of a new one. The structure of the web ideally takes into account the characteristics of the favorite prey of one or another type of spider: in one case, it can be randomly stretched threads in all directions, in the other - a circle sector stretched in the corner of the shelter, in the third - a full circle.

Rainbow play of light on a circular web stretched in a gorge national park Karijini (Australia).

A thin cobweb seems fragile, but in terms of the thickness of the thread, this is one of the strongest fibers on Earth: a cobweb with a conditional thickness of 1 mm can withstand a weight of 40 to 261 kg!

Drops of water are much larger in diameter than cobwebs, but cannot break them. When they dry, the web, due to its elasticity, will restore its shape.

In addition, the web is very elastic (it can stretch to a third of its length) and sticky, so the beating victim with its movements only confuses itself even more. The web of nephil orbs is so strong that it can even hold a bird.

A tern entangled in the web of a nephila orbworm in the Seychelles. From the side of the spider, nothing threatens her, since the bird is too big for him. Usually in such cases, the nephiles simply cut off the cobwebs so that the beating prey does not spoil the entire network for them. However, the sticky web sticks the feathers together, which can cause the bird to lose its ability to fly and die of starvation.

Some spiders additionally strengthen the web with special threads - stabiliments.

The North American spider Uloborus glomosus (Uloborus glomosus) has reinforced its web in a spiral with zigzag stabiliments.

It's hard to imagine the creator of the web outside air environment, but among the spiders there were also such. Spiders from the genus of hunters roam among coastal vegetation in search of near-water insects, but on occasion they easily move along the surface of the water and even plunge into its thickness, holding on to plants.

When crossing a pond, the banded hunter (Dolomedes fimbriatus), like water strider bugs, rests on a film of water tension.

The water spider does not leave the reservoir at all; among the underwater vegetation, it creates a dome of cobwebs, from which it stretches trapping threads. The body of this spider is covered with hairs that hold air bubbles. The spider periodically rises to the surface in order to renew their supply, and drags large bubbles with it and fills the space under the dome with them. In this air tent he lives and breeds.

Water spider (Argyroneta aquatica) and the air bell he created. The body of the spider itself is also surrounded by an air bubble, giving it a silvery hue.

Spiders breed in the tropics all year round, in the temperate zone - once a year, in summer. Usually, male spiders are much smaller than females (in some species, 1500 times!), Less often - almost the same size as them, and only in a water spider, males are a third larger than their girlfriends. In addition to size, males, as a rule, are also distinguished by bright colors. Mating in these arthropods occurs unusually - without direct contact of the genitals. First, the male fills the pedipalps with sperm and sets off on a journey with this gift. Having followed the trail of the female by smell, he proceeds to solve the main problem: how to get close to the gluttonous and huge girlfriend without awakening her hunting instinct? Different types adhere different strategies. Some spiders warn of their appearance with a characteristic twitching of the web - this “call” should make it clear to the female that there is no prey in front of her, but it does not always work, and often the boyfriend has to flee at full speed. Other males build a small mating net next to the female's web: rhythmically twitching it, they invite their girlfriend to a closer acquaintance. Male wandering spiders, which do not weave webs, perform a mating dance, raising their paws in a certain sequence, like traffic controllers. In some species, daredevils manage to involve the spider in the dance. Males of the amazing Pisaura (Pisaura mirabilis) rely on a tried and tested trick: they go on a date with a treat - a fly wrapped in a web. The most timid of spiders mate only with a recently molted female: with soft covers, she herself is defenseless and not prone to attack. During mating, the male introduces pedipalps into the female's spermatic tract, sometimes entangling her with cobwebs as a safety net.

Acrobatic sketch performed by a male peacock spider. In addition to raising their legs, males of all species of this genus also show an unusually colorful abdomen, raising it like a peacock's tail. It is almost impossible to see this miracle in nature, since the size of peacock spiders is only a couple of millimeters.

Usually an intimate meeting takes place in private, but sometimes several males look after one female and then they arrange fights among themselves. It happens that the female mates successively with several males. After mating, the spider often eats one or all partners. In some species, males survive by agile flight or cunning.

The male flower spider (Misumena vatia) climbed onto the back of the female and became inaccessible to her. For him, this is the only way to protect himself after mating, since the forces of the partners are too unequal. Some types of cross-spiders use the same method.

In more rare cases, the male and female part peacefully or even live in the same nest, sharing prey. A few days or weeks after mating, the female lays her eggs in a webbed cocoon.

The cocoon of the brown agreca (Agroeca brunnea) is two-chambered: in the upper chamber there are eggs, and in the lower chamber there are nurseries for newborn spiders.

The fertility of different species varies from 5 to 1000 eggs, if there are many eggs, then there can be up to a dozen cocoons. The size of the cradle is small - from a couple of millimeters to 5 centimeters in diameter; coloring can be white, pink, green, golden, striped.

Gasteracantha cancriformis cocoons are as unusual as these spiders themselves. The females attach their golden-black-striped cradles to the underside of the leaves.

If in relations with male spiders they demonstrate dark side of his nature, then in dealing with offspring - light. Females carefully attach cocoons in a secluded corner of the hunting net, their own nest, burrow, and vagrant species carry them with them, holding them with chelicerae or gluing them to the abdomen. Females of the Venezuelan cross (Araneus bandelieri) weave a common cocoon, and some species, like cuckoos, throw their offspring into the nests of their neighbors. If the cocoon is left in a secluded place, then after hatching, the spiders are left to their own devices. Until the expiration of the first three molts, they keep crowded, and then disperse. Females carrying cocoons with them often take care of their offspring and after birth they are spiderlings. They carry babies on their bodies and provide food.

Female of one of Pisaura species (Pisaura sp.) with a precious burden glued to her abdomen.

Young spiders living in open landscapes often resort to settling with the help of a web. To do this, they climb a stalk or twig higher and release a cobweb, but do not attach it as when weaving a net, but leave it to hang free. When the thread is long enough, the wind picks it up along with the spider and takes it far, sometimes over a hundred kilometers. The years of such a web are especially noticeable in August-September.

Web with a brood of spiders. While the kids are small, they keep crowded.

In species of the temperate zone, wintering often takes place in the egg stage, but if young spiders hibernate, they often show resistance to cold and may appear on the snow during winter thaws. Most small spiders live no more than a year, the largest tarantulas in nature live up to 7-8 years, and all 20 can live in captivity.

This is not snow, but a carpet of cobwebs that covers the shore of one of Australia's reservoirs.

The prey of spiders is varied. First of all, their victims are mobile, but not too strong insects - flies, mosquitoes, butterflies - they are the ones who have the greatest chance of getting into the net.

If the victim is especially slow and defenseless, then the spider does not hesitate to attack prey many times larger than itself: a caterpillar, earthworm, snail.

Nomadic species and spiders that live in minks are more likely to come across flightless beetles and orthoptera.

Hutchinson's Mastophora (Mastophora hutchinsoni) uses a very unusual way of hunting. She weaves a gossamer with a sticky drop at the end, hangs with this boladoras in an outstretched paw and swings it until some insect sticks to the drop.

The largest tarantulas prey mainly on small vertebrates - lizards, snakes, frogs. Occasionally, small birds (more often chicks) become their prey, which is reflected in their name and at the same time gave rise to a prejudice that tarantulas eat only birds.

Deinopis spiders (Deinopis sp.) first weave a square net, and then, holding it straight, creep up and throw it on prey.

Amphibiotic and water spiders catch tadpoles, aquatic insect larvae, fish fry and even adult small fish. Some species of spiders have a narrow food specialization, for example, they hunt only ants or spiders of other species.

Large vertebrates are never attacked by spiders, but some venomous spiders may bite in self-defense. Spider venom can be of local and general action. The local venom causes severe pain at the site of the bite, redness (blue), swelling and tissue death, in some cases so deep that internal organs are exposed. The poison of general action causes headache, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, mental agitation, skin rash, palpitations, kidney dysfunction, in severe cases, suffocation and death. Fortunately, most poisonous spiders belong to tropical exotics, and of those common in densely populated areas, the most dangerous South Russian tarantula and karakurts.

The South Russian tarantula (Lycosa singoriensis), although infamous, is not as dangerous as the karakurt.

These spiders live in the herbage of the steppes and semi-deserts of Southern Europe, Asia and North America, and livestock also suffer from their bites, which in the past sometimes led to a massive death of grazing camels, sheep, and horses. The venom of the karakurt is 15 times stronger than the venom of the gyurza, but unlike the snake, the bite of the spider is shallow, therefore, as a first aid, cauterization of the bite site with a burning match is effective. True, this measure is saving only in the case of immediate (within 1-2 minutes) application. If first aid was not provided, then the life of the victim can only be saved in the hospital with the help of anti-karakurt serum.

The female karakurt (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus) guards cocoons with eggs, during this period she is especially aggressive. The species shown in the photo lives in arid regions of Europe and Asia.

Although spiders seem to be dangerous and invulnerable predators, they are defenseless against many enemies. They are hunted by all kinds of birds, small animals, lizards, frogs. Bustards, noses and dormouse dormice do not even give in to poisonous species: birds stuff their stomachs with karakurt, and animals hunt for tarantulas. Among the invertebrates there are also brave men who are ready to eat their eight-legged brother. Spiders are attacked by praying mantises, bears, predatory beetles and even ... flies, however, not ordinary, but predatory.

These female scorpion spiders (Arachnura melanura) display a variety of intraspecific coloration. Females of this species have an elongated abdomen, which they can move like scorpions. Despite their formidable appearance, they do not have a sting, and the bite of these spiders is painful, but not dangerous. Males are smaller and of a regular shape.

Dead tarantula infected with cordyceps. Outgrowths that look like deer antlers are fruit bodies mushroom.

This Thai argiope (Argiope sp.) sits in a trapping net with legs folded in pairs and stretched along the stabiliments. So it becomes part of the web pattern and ceases to interest others.

In this regard, spiders have developed a variety of means of protection (some of them also serve as adaptations for hunting). This should include protective coloring and body shape, as well as special postures.

Some spiders freeze in the center of the web with outstretched legs, becoming like a stick, phrynarachns and pasilobuses imitate bird excrement in this position and even emit an appropriate smell that attracts flies!

Seeing danger, nomadic species take to their heels; spiders weaving a web, on the contrary, land on the ground; some species take a threatening posture with their paws raised high; small spiders shake the web so that their contours in the trembling network seem to be blurred.

The sickle-shaped pasilobus (Pasilobus lunatus) is indistinguishable from the excrement of small animals, but it only looks like this in sunlight.

As if as a reward for its unpretentious appearance, nature endowed this spider with the ability to glow in ultraviolet light.

Venomous spiders bite while tarantulas… shaken, while the hairs covering their body break off and rise into the air. When inhaled and on the skin, they cause irritation.

Rechenberg's already familiar cerebrennus never ceases to amaze: in case of danger, he flees, tumbling over his head!

It can only be surpassed by the golden-yellow carparachna living in the Namib Desert.(Carparachne aureoflava), which does not run away from enemies, but rolls head over heels from the dune, developing a speed of up to 1 m / s. This speed is not so small, because in order to reach it, the carparachne must make 40 somersaults over its head!

Paraplektana spider (Paraplectana sp.) dressed as a ladybug.

Some burrow spiders create three-chamber underground shelters to protect against wasps: if the enemy managed to crack the first door, the spider moves to the next compartment of the hole, which is also locked with a lid, and so on. At the same time, burrows can be configured in such a way that the enemy is simply not able to find the spider in the underground labyrinth.

The female of the severed cyclocosmia (Cyclocosmia truncata). This burrow spider, originally from Mexico, uses the most original method of protection - it plugs the entrance to the hole with its own body. The blunt end of the abdomen perfectly matches the size of the hole, so that a perfect cork is obtained, which is very difficult to pull out from the outside.

The front side of the abdomen of the cyclocosmia resembles an ancient seal.

Spiders have long evoked mixed feelings in people. On the one hand, they were feared because of their unpleasant appearance and poisonousness. The infamous karakurt in North America was nicknamed the "black widow", and the word "karakurt" in Kazakh means "black death". The subconscious fear of spiders is so strong that some people even now, with little or no contact with dangerous species, are afraid of these arthropods in a panic - such a mental deviation is called arachnophobia. On the other hand, people have always been fascinated by the ability of spiders to weave webs, and attempts have been made to extract practical benefits from this. Even in ancient China, they knew how to make a special “fabric of the eastern sea” from the web, the Polynesians used a thick web for sewing and making fishing nets. In Europe in XVIII-XIX centuries isolated attempts were made to make fabric and clothing from the web; in modern industry, the web is used in instrument making. However, it was not possible to give rise to the industrial production of this material due to the difficulties of keeping and breeding a huge number of producers. Now spiders are bred in captivity as exotic pets, and large tarantulas, which are convenient to observe, are most popular among amateurs. But other species of these arthropods also deserve protection as useful and very effective regulators of the number of harmful insects.

Smith's Brachypelma (Brachypelma smithi; female) is one of the most popular tarantula spiders. Due to the massive catch for sale in their homeland, in Mexico, it has become rare.

Read about the animals mentioned in this article: horseshoe crabs, ants, grasshoppers, praying mantises, ladybugs, crabs, snails, frogs, snakes, lizards, peacocks, cuckoos, deer.

The category of the most popular species includes spiders, which are perfectly adapted for captivity, are completely unpretentious, and also have an unusual appearance:

• Curly-haired tarantula or Brachyrelma alborilosum- unpretentious ambush spider, leading night image life. An ideal exotic for beginners, due to its original appearance, rather large body size, as well as amazing calmness. It does not have a bright color, and the unusual appearance is due to the presence of fairly long hairs with black or white tips. The base color of the spider is brown or brownish black. Average length the body is 80 mm with a paw size of 16-18 cm. The cost of an adult reaches four thousand rubles;
• Acanthoscurria Antillensis or Asanthoscurria antillensis- a spider native to the Lesser Antilles. The species belongs to the real tarantula family. This is a fairly active spider that hides in a shelter during the day and feeds. different insects. The body length reaches 60-70 mm with a leg span of 15 cm. The main coloration is represented by dark brown shades with a slight metallic sheen on the carapace. The average cost of an adult reaches 4.5 thousand rubles;
• Chromatopelma Cyaneopubescens Chromatorelma syaneopubessens- a popular and very beautiful tarantula spider, which is characterized by a body length of 60-70 mm, as well as a leg span of up to 14-15 cm. The main coloration is represented by a combination of a reddish-orange abdomen, bright blue limbs and a green carapace. A hardy species that can go without food for several months. The average cost of an adult reaches 10-11 thousand rubles;
• crassiсrus lamanai- a species that is safe for humans, characterized by the presence of expanded joints in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe fourth leg in females. The main coloration of the adult male is black. The body size of the male is up to 3.7 cm and the carapace is 1.6x1.4 cm. Sexually mature females are much larger than males and their body length reaches 7 cm with a leg span of 15 cm. Adult females are painted mainly in brown tones. The average cost of an adult reaches 4.5 thousand rubles;
• cyclosternum fasciatum- one of the smallest tropical view The tarantula is native to Costa Rica. The maximum leg span of an adult is 10-12 cm with a body length of 35-50 mm. The body color is dark brown with a noticeable reddish tint. The cephalothorax is colored in reddish or brown shades, the abdomen is black with red stripes, and the legs are gray, black or brown. The average cost of an adult reaches 4 thousand rubles.

Also popular among fans of domestic exotics are such types of spiders as Cyriosmus bertae, Grammostola golden-striped and pink, poisonous Terafoza blondi.

Important! It is strongly not recommended to keep a red-backed spider at home, which is known to many as. This species is considered the most dangerous of the Australian spiders and releases a neurotoxic venom, so the owner of such an exotic should always have an antidote on hand.

Where and how to keep a domestic spider

Sedentary spiders with a lack of characteristic roundness in the abdomen are most likely sick, malnourished, or suffering from dehydration. In addition to the exotic, you need to choose and purchase the right terrarium for its maintenance, as well as the most important accessories for filling the home.

We select a terrarium

In too voluminous terrariums filled with a large number of decorative elements, such an exotic can easily be lost. It is also important to remember that many species are unable to get along with their neighbors, therefore, for example, tarantulas should be kept alone.

A terrarium house will become cozy for a spider, the optimal dimensions of which are two lengths of the maximum leg span. As practice shows, even the largest specimens feel great in a dwelling measuring 40 × 40 cm or 50 × 40 cm.

According to their design features, terrariums are horizontal for terrestrial species and burrowing exotics, as well as vertical for tree spiders. In the manufacture of a terrarium, as a rule, tempered glass or standard plexiglass is used.

Lighting, humidity, decor

Creation of optimal, comfortable conditions for a spider - a guarantee of preserving the life and health of an exotic when it is kept in captivity:

• a special substrate in the form of vermiculite is poured onto the bottom of the terrarium. The standard layer of such backfill should be 30-50 mm. Coconut dry substrate or ordinary peat crumb mixed with sphagnum moss is also very well suited for these purposes;
• the temperature regime inside the terrarium is also very important. Spiders belong to the category of very heat-loving pets, so the temperature range within 22-28 ° C will be optimal. As practice shows, a slight and short-term decrease in temperature is not capable of harming spiders, but one should not abuse the endurance of such exotics;
• despite the fact that spiders are predominantly nocturnal, they should not be limited in the light. As a rule, to create comfortable conditions, it is quite enough to have natural light in the room, but without direct sunlight on the container;
• as a shelter for burrowing spider species, special “houses” are used from pieces of bark or coconut shell. Also, for the purpose of decorating the interior space, various decorative driftwood or artificial vegetation can be used.

The humidity inside the spider's home requires special attention. To ensure optimal performance allows the presence of a drinker and the right substrate. You need to control the humidity level with a standard hygrometer. To increase humidity, the terrarium is irrigated with water from a household spray bottle.

Important! It should be noted that overheating of the air inside the terrarium is very dangerous for a well-fed spider, since in this case, decay processes are activated in the stomach and undigested food becomes the cause of exotic poisoning.

Terrarium safety

The terrarium for the spider must be completely safe, as for the most exotic pet as well as for those around you. It is especially important to observe safety rules when keeping poisonous spiders.

It should be remembered that spiders are able to move quite deftly even on a vertical surface, so the main condition for safe keeping is the presence of a reliable cover. It is impossible to acquire too high a capacity for terrestrial spider species, otherwise the exotic may fall from a considerable height and receive a life-threatening rupture of the abdomen.

To ensure sufficient ventilation for the life of the spider, it is necessary to make perforations in the form of small and numerous holes in the cover of the terrarium.

What to feed house spiders

In order to make the process of feeding and caring for your home spider as convenient as possible, it is recommended to purchase tweezers. With the help of such a simple device, insects are given to spiders, and food remains and waste products polluting the home are also removed from the terrarium. The diet should be as close as possible to the nutrition of the spider in natural, natural conditions. The standard serving size is about a third of the size of the exotic itself.

This is interesting! The drinker is installed in terrariums in adults and can be represented by an ordinary saucer, slightly pressed into the substrate at the bottom of the container.

Spider lifespan at home

The average life expectancy of an exotic pet in captivity can vary greatly depending on the species and compliance with the rules of keeping:

• asanthoscurria antillensis - about 20 years;
• chromatorelma cyaneorubessens - males live an average of 3-4 years, and females - up to 15 years;
• tiger spider - up to 10 years;
• red-backed spider - 2-3 years;
• common argiope - no more than a year.

The females of Archonorelma deservedly belong to the number of centenarians among spiders, the average life expectancy of which is three decades.

Also, the champions in life expectancy include some species of spiders from the tarantula family, which are capable of living in captivity for a quarter of a century, and sometimes more.

Squad: Araneae = Spiders

The biology of spider reproduction in terms of the complexity and originality of the observed phenomena surpasses everything that is characteristic of other arachnids, and this is again due to the use of the web.

Sexually mature male spiders in lifestyle and appearance, as a rule, are very different from females, although in some cases males and females are similar. Usually the male is smaller than the female, with relatively longer legs, and sometimes males are dwarfed, 1000-1500 times smaller than females in volume. In addition to size, sexual dimorphism often manifests itself in certain secondary sexual characters: in the bright pattern of males, in the special shape of separate pairs of legs, etc. Males, as a rule, are less common than females, and in some species they were not found at all. At the same time, the virgin development of eggs in spiders seems to be the rarest exception. In web spiders, sexually mature males usually no longer build trapping webs, but roam in search of females and are caught on the female's nets in short period mating.

Internal organs The reproductive systems of spiders are generally quite conventional in structure. The testicles are paired, the convoluted seminal ducts are connected near the genital opening, which in the male has the appearance of a small gap. The ovaries are paired, in some cases fused at the ends into a ring. Paired oviducts are connected to unpaired organ- the uterus, which opens with the oviduct. The latter is covered by a folded elevation - the epigyne. There are seminal sacs - sacs from which the tubules depart to the excretory part of the genital tract and to the epigyne, where they usually open independently of the oviduct.

Aggregate organs are formed on the pedipalps of the male only during the last molt. Before mating, the male releases a drop of sperm from the genital opening onto a specially woven spider web, fills the copulatory organs of the pedipalps with sperm and, when mating, injects the sperm into the female's seminal receptacles with their help. In the simplest case, the tarsus of the pedipalps has a pear-shaped appendage - a bulb with a spiral spermatic canal inside (Fig. 35.5). The appendage is elongated into a thin spout - an embolus, at the end of which a canal opens. During mating, the embolus is inserted into the tubule of the female's seminal receptacle. In most cases, the copulatory organs are more complex, and the ways of their complication can be traced within the order and are somewhat different for different groups spiders. The tarsi of the pedipalps are usually enlarged. The articular membrane of the bulbus turns into a blood receptacle, which at the time of mating bubble-like swells under the pressure of the hemolymph. The spermatic duct forms complex loops and opens at the end of a long embolus, flagellated or otherwise. Often there are additional appendages that serve to attach during mating. The structure of copulatory organs is very diverse in detail, characteristic of individual groups and species, and is widely used in the systematics of spiders.

The male fills the bulbs of the pedipalps with seed shortly after the last molt. The spermatic reticulum has a triangular or quadrangular shape and is suspended horizontally. In a drop of sperm allocated to her, the male immerses the ends of the pedipalps. It is believed that sperm penetrates through the narrow channel of the embolus due to capillarity, but it has now been established that at least forms with complex copulatory organs have a special seminiferous tubule. In some spiders, the male does not make a net, but stretches one or several cobwebs between the legs of the third pair, releases a drop of sperm onto the cobweb and brings it to the ends of the pedipalps. There are also species whose males take sperm directly from the genital opening.

The male with sperm-filled copulatory organs goes in search of the female, sometimes overcoming considerable distances. At the same time, he is guided mainly by the sense of smell. He distinguishes the odorous trace of a sexually mature female on the substrate and her web. Vision in most cases does not play a significant role: males with smeared eyes easily find females.

Having found the female, the male begins "courtship". Almost always, the excitation of the male is manifested in certain characteristic movements. The male twitches the threads of the female's web with his claws. The latter notices these signals and often rushes at the male as if it were prey, putting him to flight. Persistent "courtship", sometimes continuing for a very long time, makes the female less aggressive and prone to mating. Males of some species weave small "marriage nets" next to the female's nets, onto which they lure the female with rhythmic movements of the legs. For spiders that live in burrows, mating takes place in the burrow of the female.

In some species, repeated mating with several males and rivalry of males are observed, which gather on the female's nets and, trying to approach her, fight with each other. The most active one drives away rivals and mates with the female, and after a while another male takes his place, etc...