Spiders reproduction and development. Where do house spiders come from in the house - is it good or bad?
Arachnids are characterized by the division of the body into a cephalothorax and abdomen (segmented in scorpions and non-segmented in spiders). Ticks do not have body divisions. There are 4 pairs of walking limbs. The eyes are simple. There are no antennae. Respiratory organs - trachea or lungs. Dioecious.
The body of arachnids is covered with a thin cuticle, under which the hypodermis and basement membrane are located. The cuticle performs a protective function. The cephalothorax bears 6 pairs of jointed limbs. Two pairs of modified limbs surround the mouth opening. The first pair - chelicerae - have claws at the end in which the ducts of the poisonous glands open; their secretion has a paralyzing effect. The second pair is the pedipalps; they hold and turn prey. In scorpions, the pedipalps look like claws.
The function of walking legs is performed by 4 pairs of limbs of the cephalothorax. The abdomen of adult arachnids lacks typical limbs. Their modification is arachnoid warts located at the end of the abdomen. The arachnoid glands themselves (up to 1000 in number) are located in the abdominal cavity. They secrete a sticky, stretchy substance that hardens in air, forming a web. To catch prey, the spider builds a web. He paralyzes an insect caught in a web by introducing a secretion of “poisonous” salivary glands, which begins the breakdown of nutrients and leads to “liquefaction” of food. Only after this does the spider absorb semi-liquid food, the digestion of which ends in its body. Thus, digestion in a spider can be called external-internal. The function of the pump during feeding is performed by the pharynx, which is equipped with strong muscles. The liver ducts open into the midgut, and digested substances are absorbed there. Undigested residues are excreted through the hindgut and anus.
The excretory organs are the Malpighian tubules, which open into the digestive canal at the border of the middle and hind intestines, and the coxal glands - modified metanephridia, which open at the base of the first pair of walking limbs.
The circulatory system is not closed. The heart is located on the dorsal side of the abdomen in the form of a tube above the intestines. Some small ticks do not have a heart. From the heart, blood flows through the vessels to the head. In the anterior part, it pours into the spaces between the organs and is directed to the posterior end of the body. On the abdominal side, oxygenated blood collects in vessels and returns to the heart. The blood of arachnids contains a respiratory pigment - hemocyanin.
The respiratory system is represented by a pair of pulmonary sacs and tracheal tubes. The tracheae open on the abdomen with respiratory openings - stigmas.
The nervous system is built according to the type of abdominal nerve chain, in which the number of ganglia decreases due to their fusion. Metamerism of the nerve chain is expressed in scorpions and not expressed in ticks.
The organs of vision are simple eyes located on the cephalothorax (from 2 to 12). Sensitive hairs on the pedipalps perceive air vibrations; it is through them that the spider learns about the prey caught in the net. The organs of smell and chemical sense are also developed.
Paired gonads are located in the abdomen. Reproduction is sexual. Insemination is internal. The female is much larger than the male - this is a sign of sexual dimorphism. In the fall, after fertilization, the female spider weaves a cocoon and lays eggs in it. They overwinter in a cocoon, and in the spring small spiders emerge from the eggs (direct development). Scorpios experience viviparity.
The category of the most popular species includes spiders, which are perfectly adapted for keeping in captivity, are completely unpretentious, and also have an unusual appearance:
- curly-haired tarantula spider or Brachyrelma alborilosum– an unpretentious ambush spider, leading a nocturnal lifestyle. An ideal exotic option for beginners, thanks to its original appearance, fairly large body size, and amazing calmness. It is not brightly colored, and its unusual appearance is due to the presence of fairly long hairs with black or white tips. The main color of the spider is brown or brownish-black. The average body length is 80 mm with paw sizes of 16-18 cm. The cost of an adult individual reaches four thousand rubles;
- Acanthoscurria Antillensis or Acanthosсurria antillensis- a spider native to the Lesser Antilles. The species belongs to the family Tarantulas. 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 color is dark brown with a slight metallic sheen on the carapace. The average cost of an adult reaches 4.5 thousand rubles;
- chromatopelma cyaneopubescens Chromatorelma cyaneopubescens is 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 coloring is represented by a combination of a reddish-orange abdomen, bright blue limbs and green carapace. A hardy species that can survive without food for several months. The average cost of an adult reaches 10-11 thousand rubles;
- crassiсrus lamanai- a species safe for humans, characterized by the presence of expanded joints in the area of the fourth leg in females. The main coloring of an adult male is black. The body size of the male is up to 3.7 cm and the carapace is 1.6x1.4 cm. Mature females are much larger than males and their body length reaches 7 cm with a leg span of 15 cm. Adult females are colored predominantly in brown tones. The average cost of an adult reaches 4.5 thousand rubles;
- cyсlosternum fasciаtum– one of the smallest in size, tropical look The tarantula spider is native to Costa Rica. The maximum leg span of an adult is 10-12 cm with a body length of 35-50 mm. Body color is dark brown with a noticeable reddish tint. The cephalothorax area is colored reddish or brown, 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 lovers of domestic exotics are such species of spiders as Cyriocosmus bertae, Grammostola golden-striped and pink, poisonous Teraphosa blondie.
Important! It is strictly not recommended to keep a red-backed spider, which is known to many as the “Black Widow,” at home. This species is considered the most dangerous of the spiders in Australia and secretes neurotoxic poison, so the owner of such an exotic must always have an antidote on hand.
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Where and how to keep a house spider
Sedentary spiders that lack the 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 to fill your home.
Selecting a terrarium
In terrariums that are too voluminous, filled with a large number of decorative elements, such exotics can easily get lost. It is also important to remember that many species are unable to get along with their neighbors, so, for example, it is advisable to keep tarantulas alone.
A terrarium house, the optimal size of which is two times the length of the maximum leg span, will be cozy for the spider. As practice shows, even the largest specimens feel great in a home measuring 40x40cm or 50x40cm.
According to their design features, terrariums can be horizontal for terrestrial species and burrowing exotics, as well as vertical for tree spiders. When making a terrarium, as a rule, tempered glass or standard plexiglass is used.
Lighting, humidity, decor
Creating optimal, comfortable conditions for the spider is the key to preserving the life and health of the exotic when 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. Dry coconut substrate or regular peat chips mixed with sphagnum moss are also very suitable 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 optimal temperature range will be between 22-28°C. As practice shows, a slight and short-term decrease in temperature cannot cause harm to spiders, but one should not abuse the endurance of such exotics;
- Despite the fact that spiders are predominantly nocturnal, they cannot be limited in light. As a rule, to create comfortable conditions, it is enough to have natural lighting in the room, but without direct sunlight hitting the container;
- As a shelter for burrowing species of spiders, special “houses” made of pieces of bark or coconut shells are used. Also, various decorative driftwood or artificial vegetation can be used to decorate the interior space.
The humidity inside the spider's home requires special attention. The presence of a drinking bowl and the correct substrate allows you to ensure optimal performance. You need to control the humidity level using a standard hygrometer. To increase humidity, the terrarium is irrigated with water from a household spray bottle.
Important! It should be noted that overheating the air inside the terrarium is very dangerous for a well-fed spider, since in this case the processes of decay in the stomach are activated and undigested food becomes the cause of exotic poisoning.
Terrarium safety
A terrarium for a spider should be completely safe, as for the most exotic pet, and for others. It is especially important to follow 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 lid. You should not purchase a container that is too high for terrestrial species of spiders, as otherwise the exotic may fall from a considerable height and suffer a life-threatening abdominal rupture.
To ensure sufficient ventilation for the spider’s life, it is necessary to make perforations in the form of small and numerous holes in the lid of the terrarium.
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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 that pollute the home are removed from the terrarium. The diet should be as close as possible to the spider’s diet in natural, natural conditions. The standard serving size is about a third of the size of the exotic itself.
This is interesting! The drinking bowl is installed in terrariums for adult individuals and can be represented by an ordinary saucer, slightly pressed into the substrate at the bottom of the container.
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Life expectancy of a spider at home
Average life expectancy exotic pet in captivity can vary greatly depending on the species and compliance with the rules of detention:
- acanthosсurria antillensis – about 20 years;
- chromatоrelma сyanеоrubеsсens – males live on average 3-4 years, and females – up to 15 years;
- tiger spider – up to 10 years;
- redback spider – 2-3 years;
- Argiope vulgaris – no more than a year.
The female tarantula Ahonopelma, whose average lifespan is three decades, are deservedly among the longest-livers among spiders.
Also, record holders for life expectancy include some species of spiders from the family of tarantulas, which are capable of living in captivity for a quarter of a century, and sometimes more.
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Reproduction of spiders, features
The spider's reproductive organ is located in front of the spinning organ.. After mating, the male is often extremely careful, since some species of females are capable of killing their sexual partner and using him for food.
This is interesting! Males of some common species after mating do not care at all about their safety and absolutely calmly allow the female to eat them, and some species are capable of living together for a long time.
A few weeks or months after mating, the female begins to make a special cocoon, which she can move around the terrarium in search of the most comfortable conditions. At a certain time, the female independently opens the cocoon and many tiny spiders are born.
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Safety and Cautions
The most difficult in terms of home care are poisonous and aggressive spiders, which include species such as:
- Phormistoryrus antillensis;
- Phormictorus auratus;
- Phormictorus cancerides;
- Theraphosa apohysis;
- Thrichorelma oskerti;
- Latrodectus hasselti;
- Latrodectus tredecimguttatus;
- Macrothele gigas;
- Stromatorelma salseatum.
One of the most nervous, quickly excitable and aggressive species are many spiders of the genus Tarinauchenius, whose bite is extremely toxic to humans. Caring for such exotics requires full compliance with safety rules.
Such pets should not be handled, and when cleaning the terrarium, such spiders mandatory placed in a special, tightly closed container.
What to do if the spider escaped
Most often, wood spiders escape from loosely closed home terrariums.. There may be several reasons for the sudden escape of an exotic:
- finding the spider outside its nest when opening the terrarium;
- sharp withdrawal of the paws when touched;
- jerking almost the whole body in any direction when feeding with tweezers;
- the presence of a disproportionately large food item in the terrarium;
- recent molt.
If the spider nevertheless leaves its home, then it is necessary to carefully observe its movement, without making sudden movements. When the spider stops, it should be covered with any sufficiently wide container.
Then a piece of thick cardboard is placed under the container with which the spider is covered, and the exotic is carefully transferred to the terrarium.
What to do if a spider bites you
Most often, species of spiders that are not dangerous to humans are kept at home; when bitten, the following symptoms occur:
- pain at the site of the bite;
- redness and swelling;
- itching;
- increased body temperature;
- general malaise.
In this case, it is enough to use conventional analgesics and antipyretics, and also treat the bite site with “Zvezdochka” balm or “Fenistil” gel. If the bite is caused by a poisonous spider, then it will be necessary to provide the victim with emergency medical care in a hospital setting as soon as possible.
In general, all types of safe spiders are almost ideal and hassle-free exotic pets that do not require frequent feeding, do not produce allergenic fur, do not mark territory and take up very little space. Such an exotic dog will be the best option for keeping a pet for busy people who do not have the opportunity to devote a lot of time and effort to their pet.
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simple-fauna.ru
Physiology of house spiders
In fact, the physiology and biology of reproduction of house 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 appearance of such an exotic pet serves as a hint to the owner of spiders and the answer to the question - where is the female spider and where is the male. So,
sexually mature males, as a rule, always have bright colors, proportional and elongated legs, a special structure of the pedipalps, and are distinguished by great mobility.
By the way, they reach puberty earlier than females, who look somewhat gray compared to 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.
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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-corner shape. It secretes a drop of inseminating liquid onto the underside of such a web. After such a “network” is ready in every sense of the word, 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 during the night in order to find a female.
The spider is looking for the “lady of the heart” very in an interesting way – using exclusively the senses of touch. He follows the female's trail and almost always finds her. But, it is quite clear that when living in a terrarium, whether he finds a female to mate with or not will depend on you, as the owner of the spider.
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Spiders mating
If you seriously decide to start breeding spiders, then take care in advance of a neutral territory for mating of these creatures and a female spider. And, after you notice that your spider has begun to weave a ritual web, start trying to cross spiders. To do this, first place the female and then the male spider in a neutral terrarium.
If the female spider has other plans and “children” are not included in them, most likely she will attack the male spider. In this case, it is recommended to immediately remove 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, can end in the death of one of the spiders or self-harm and severed limbs. By the way, many people mistakenly think that the female eats the male spider. So, it doesn't always happen this way. If the male spider is strong enough, he can cope with the female and then, instead of thinking about where to place the little spiderlings, you will think about where to get another female, instead of the one that died in the paws of the male spider.
If the female spider is ready to mate, she will initially simply ignore the male. His task will be to attract her attention with a ritual dance, and lure the female out of the shelter, where she could hide at the sight of a stranger spider. After this, 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 several seconds. At the end of them, he quickly runs away to the other end of the terrarium, since the spider can change her mood and attack him. It is recommended to remove the male immediately after mating in order to avoid unpleasant incidents.
At one time, a male is able to fertilize several females. Likewise, a female can mate with several males in one season.
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Features of the behavior of a female spider
Depending on many factors - season, temperature in the terrarium, humidity, availability of food and type of spider, fertilization of eggs in the uterus can occur 1-8 months after mating.
The female lays eggs and weaves them into a cocoon. The cocoon itself consists of 2 parts, fastened at the edges. It is noteworthy that to protect themselves from 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 watches the cocoon, turns it over and can move with it inside the terrarium. In fact, there is a completely logical explanation for this behavior - depending on humidity and temperature, the female looks for optimally comfortable conditions for her spiderlings.
If you want your idea to be successful and small spiders to be born, try not to irritate the female during this period and protect her from stress. Since there are often cases when, as a result of a nervous shock, a spider ate its cocoon.
By the way, some spider breeders practice... taking on maternal functions and, after the female lays her clutch and weaves a web around it, 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 the humidity and temperature . I would like to immediately warn you that such an “incubator” is a very difficult task, therefore, we do not undertake to guarantee you that you will cope with maternal responsibilities better than the spider herself.
There are also cases when a female spider laid several cocoons after mating at intervals of several weeks.
As for the number of eggs in such clutches, it is 30-60 eggs, but the female spider Lasiodora parahubana can lay 2500 eggs at a time!
The incubation period of eggs also depends on the type of pack itself, but on average ranges from several weeks to 4 months. Moreover, the eggs of arboreal spider species “mature” faster than those of terrestrial spider species.
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The appearance of small spiders
When small spiders are born, their size is 3-5 millimeters, and their leg span is 1.5 centimeters. Newborn spiders of arboreal species are larger than terrestrial ones, and their number is smaller. They are distinguished by great mobility and timidity. The slightest danger, rustle, or movement serves as a signal for them to burrow deeper into the substrate of the terrarium.
The process of the birth of spiders is very interesting. In embryos, on the eve of this event, egg teeth are formed at the base 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 dismembered, their integuments are thin, and they feed on the yolk sac that remains in the intestines. After the first molt, claws appear on the spider's legs inside the egg and chelicerae develop. It's time for him to be born. He experiences the next moult post-embryonic, and now he is an active baby, capable of feeding on his own. By the way, after its birth, it is better to remove it from the mother’s terrarium, since now the spider will perceive her little spiderlings not as her children, but as food. What can you do, such laws of Nature...
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Development of small spiders
The lifestyle and biology of young spiders are very similar to the lifestyle of adults. They are born with the instincts of arranging a shelter for themselves, the instinct of hunting for food items. And, at the age of several weeks, when the spider gets stronger, you can already think about placing it in good hands.
By the way, the cost of spiders depends on the age at which you sell them, their size and their gender. So, for example, we were able to find out the following prices:
- Baby spiders, until their gender is determined, are sold for an average of 8-10 dollars. for 1 piece. Moreover, if you buy them in bulk (10-20 pieces), the seller can give a discount.
- A female tarantula spider, depending on its size, can cost between $70 and $100.
- Whereas, a male tarantula spider costs 20-40 dollars.
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Failures You May Encounter When Breeding Spiders
It is quite clear that theory differs from practice, and you may encounter a number of difficulties that relate to both the “acquaintance” of the spider with the spider and the onset of fertilization of the eggs, as well as problems with the cocoon - the spider may sit on it and not take care of it it, or small spiders will not be able to gnaw through it and be born. Not a single spider lover can insure himself against such failures. However, your strict adherence to the recommendations regarding the care of spiders, the creation of comfortable conditions for breeding in the terrarium, your competent approach, your observation, concern for the health of spiders - all this will reduce the risk of possible failures. And, the reward for your diligence will be the little spiderlings that are born.
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Video on breeding spiders:
Today we talked about breeding spiders at home, how the reproduction process occurs, the behavioral characteristics of a male spider and a female spider, as well as how small spiders are born. We also considered possible difficulties that you may encounter in the process of breeding spiders. However, we hope that if you follow our recommendations, your spiders will breed to your delight.
Are you breeding your own exotic pets? What challenges have you faced and how did you overcome them? Share your experience with our readers...
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nutriacultivation.ru
Spiders must reproduce and therefore there are male and female individuals. Males are often smaller and more colorful than females. Males can be easily identified by their sensitive tentacles (palps). More precisely, by the elongated bulbs at their ends, which they use to inject sperm into the exposed genitals of females.
The spider's reproductive organs are located in front of the spinners. When the time comes, males wander off in search of females. At this time, we may come across a spider in our homes. Usually the spider hides from our view. But now he must move around, running through our homes, looking for a partner and often unwittingly causing panic among the inhabitants of our homes. When he has found a suitable female, he must take care not to mistakenly become prey for her. Males have different approaches to telling a female that he is interested in mating. The males of some species offer a gift, others “clank” their legs against the female’s web, and some perform a dance. If the signals are correct and the female is ready to mate, she allows the male to approach. Before mating, the male fills the elongated bulbs at the ends of the sensitive tentacles (palps) with sperm, for this he creates a small network. Then he throws a few drops of sperm from the genitals onto the net and then sucks the sperm into the elongated bulbs.
After mating, males of some species must be extremely careful. Since sometimes females try to kill males and use them as food. Although often the male individual manages to escape. The males of some species no longer care about life after mating and allow themselves to be eaten without objection. Other species live together happily for a long time after mating. There is great diversity in sexual behavior among different species. The males of most species do not live long after mating because their purpose is achieved and accomplished.
Females often live longer than males. Some females die after hatching their eggs, and some may even be eaten by their children. Others may live for about another year. Most females protect their eggs and young. Wolf spiders carry their egg sac on their spinners and then the young on their hindquarters until their first moult. Orb weaving spiders also guard their egg sac.
znanija.com
Little is known about life cycle the vast majority of tarantulas. We can only assume that it is similar to the cycle of those few carefully studied species, and make certain additions to it based on factors such as seasons, temperature, humidity and habitat. Be careful! These assumptions can easily mislead you. For too long they tried to adapt Terafozide to existing formulas. Surprises await us, and assumptions can only serve as a starting point. This requires other areas of research. Everything stated here may apply only to North American species, but may not be true at all for species from Africa, Asia, etc.
Maturation
In the life of every tarantula there is one significant molt (if it, of course, lives to see it) - this is the adult or largest moult.
The duration of puberty depends very much on the type of tarantula, the sex of the individual, physical condition, nutritional conditions and other factors unknown to us. For example, male tarantulas mature a year and a half earlier than their sisters, but insufficient nutrition can delay this process for two years or more (Baerg 1928).
In one of the North American species, this molt occurs at 10-12 years of life (Baerg 1928). Males of the species Aphonopelma anax can mature at two to three years of age (Breene 1996), and some tropical tarantulas (eg Avicularia spp.) mature even more quickly, perhaps even by 8 months of age (Chagrentier 1992).
Among individuals of the same brood, males mature much earlier than females. One of the hypotheses to explain this fact is that maturation in different time prevents brothers and sisters from mating, and accordingly preserves genetic diversity.
Another hypothesis suggests that males take less time to reach full body weight because they have less weight than females. This leads to the conclusion that females take longer to develop larger reproductive organs and gain more body weight in preparation for ovulation. If this hypothesis is correct, then avoidance of inbreeding is only a secondary phenomenon. Before the next molt, all tarantulas belonging to the same species appear more or less alike, and even after maturation the adult female still looks very much like a large juvenile.
The male, however, undergoes a radical transformation during his maturation after the final molt. It develops longer legs and a smaller abdomen than the female. In most varieties, the front pair of legs now have prominent, forward-pointing hooks on each tibia.
Male Brachypelma smithi. The tibial hooks and bulbs on the pedipalps are visible.
Male Brachypelma smithi. The tibial hooks on the first pair of walking legs are visible.
The male's character also changes (Petrunkevetch 1911): instead of a balanced, reclusive behavior, he acquired an excitable, hyperactive temperament, characterized by impetuous starts, fast movements and a strong wanderlust. For the male, this maturing molt is the final one. In short, this is the beginning of the end. His days are numbered.
One of the most important transformations occurs in its pedipalps. While his sister's pedipalps still resemble walking legs, his pedipalps look like they're wearing boxing gloves. But make no mistake: he is a lover, not a fighter! The bulbous ends of its pedipalps are now very complexly arranged and adapted for use as specific genital organs. The terminal segments on the pedipalps have changed from relatively simple tarsi and claws to complex secondary reproductive organs used to introduce sperm into the female reproductive tract.
Sex Life
Little is known about the sexual behavior of wild tarantulas. Virtually all we really know comes from observing spiders living in captivity, and such housing can radically change habits and instincts. We report here only what little we know about the wild habits of tarantulas and can only hope for more extensive research in this area.
Charger
Soon after the final molt, the male tarantula spins a web of sperm and thereby prepares itself for a sexual career (Baerg 1928 and 1958; Petrankevich 1911; Minch 1979). This sperm web usually looks like a silky tent, open on both sides. But in general it can occur in one of two options. Some varieties build it with only two open ends. Others weave it also opening from above. In this case, the male will spin an additional small patch of special web inside (apparently with his epiandrous glands), adjacent to the upper edge. If there is no open top, he will spin such a patch inside and adjacent to the edge of one of the open ends. Turning upside down under this web, he will then deposit a drop of his sperm on the underside of that small patch. After which he will climb to the top of the web, clinging to the pedipalps, first one, then the other, stretch through the top (if it is open), or through the open end (if the top is closed) and charge his bulbs with sperm. This process is called sperm induction.
The sperm with which he charges his bulbs is not yet active. Once sperm are produced in the testes, they are encased in a protein capsule and remain dormant until the male is called to fertilize the female (Foelix 1982).
After “charging” his pedipalps, the male leaves the sperm web and goes to look for a female to court. During his wanderings, the male is exposed to conditions common to any predator in this environment, and therefore he must be hyperactive even in order to survive and mate. Thus, male hyperactivity is a necessary survival feature. Where does the male weave his first sperm web? Within his burrow before he leaves the web or after he leaves the burrow to search for a female? The hole seems like a very tight place to perform the necessary movements, but it is much safer than an open space.
The male will spin several sperm webs and charge the tips of his pedipalps more than once. It is capable of mating several times during its sexual career. But there is still very little data indicating how many times a male is capable of recharging his pedipalps, or how many females he can impregnate. Where does the male build additional sperm webs after he leaves his burrow? Does it prefer secluded areas under a rock or other cover, or does it simply stop anywhere there is an object that can be used as a vertical support, oblivious to the rest of the world? Most likely, the answers to these questions depend on the species of the tarantula. Clearly, more extensive research is needed. The righteous girls he usually looks for stay at home, waiting for their suitors. Of course, the greater the distances he covers, the greater the chance he has of finding a female ready to mate. Males sometimes found them by moving almost two kilometers from their home (Dzanowski-Bell 1995).
The Taming of the Shrew
Females are probably discovered through some kind of sense (we cannot confidently call it taste or smell) and the tactics of weaving nets around their burrows (Minch 1979). Once the sperm web has been woven, the male will begin to very carefully tap his feet at the entrance to the female's burrow in an attempt to arouse her interest. If this does not produce the desired effect, he will try to very carefully crawl into her hole. At some point in his movement, he will come into contact with the female, and here there are two possible scenarios for the development of events. It can be met with an almost explosive attack. In this case, the female can pounce on him like a ferocious tiger, with bared fangs and the clear intention of having dinner instead of sex. The male must try to hastily retreat from the hole or else he will become the main dish on his bride's menu.
In another scenario, the female initially ignores him, acting modest and persistently seeking her affection. In this case, the male will lower his prosoma until it lies on the surface, while holding the opisthosoma high in the air. He extends his front legs and pedipalps towards the female and, in this position of extreme supplication, drags his body back. This ingratiating appearance almost always works, and while the male pulls himself back, the female modestly follows him. From time to time he pauses his retreat, still maintaining a submissive body position, alternately thrusting and thrusting his pedipalps and forelegs, first from the left side, then from the right, then from the left again, to maintain the female's interest. So, step by step, they move in an unusual procession from the hole to the surface.
The courtship of araneomorphic spiders (the families Araneidae, Pisoridae, Saltikiidae and Lycosideidae, for example) is often very complex and bizarre. In these spiders, the male performs a small dance or plucks spider threads from the female’s network in a special way, which seems to turn off her predatory instinct and replaces it with a willingness to accept an assistant in procreation. Some males in the Pizorida family even go so far as to offer the female a recently caught insect before mating.
Courtship among tarantulas is relatively simple and straightforward. Males (and sometimes females) often twitch and strike the ground with their pedipalps and legs before mating. However, this is not as complex a dance as that of the Araneomorph. To date, there have been no seriously documented attempts to determine differences in mating rituals among different tarantula species. In these spiders, it is generally very difficult to determine whether they are currently ready to mate or not. Perhaps this reminds us of what they are, and that a mistaken sign by a male is a sure way for him to be attacked and eaten.
Somewhere in the open, when the female is no longer in familiar territory, the male may try to approach her cautiously. By this time, when he has seduced her and lured her out of her hiding place, she already recognizes him as a suitor and remains motionless. The male may touch her with the tips of the front pair of legs or tap them on the ground or on the female several times in a row. After a short pause, he can resume his movements. Usually the male performs these manipulations several times until he is convinced that the female is not planning anything criminal against him. In fact, the sequence of events, the exact number of all movements and the type of foreplay vary depending on the species of tarantula and may be an important clue to understanding their phylogeny (Platnek 1971). However, no one has yet conducted truly serious studies of sexual behavior in these spiders.
Copulation
If the female is still passive or if she approaches too slowly, the male carefully moves closer by moving his front legs between her pedipalps and chelicerae. At the same time, the female will raise and spread her fangs. This is not an expression of hostility, but rather of readiness to mate. The male grabs her fangs with his tibial hooks in order to give a stable position to both himself and his girlfriend. It is a mistake to believe that in this way the male makes the female motionless and, as it were, disarms her. Nothing like this! At this moment, she is just as eager for intimacy as he is. The authors witnessed many cases where it was the female who took the initiative, initiating mating with the male herself! After the male has securely grabbed the female's fangs, he pushes her back and forth. At this moment, he extends his pedipalps and gently strokes the lower part of her abdomen. If she remains calm and obedient, he will open the embolus of one pedipalp and carefully insert it into the gonopore of the female's epigastric groove. This will constitute the actual act of copulation. After penetration, the female bends sharply almost at a right angle to the male, and he, having emptied one pedipalp, quickly inserts and empties the other.
After copulation, the male holds the female as far away from him as possible until he can safely detach his front legs and start striding! The female often pursues him for a short distance, but is extremely rarely full of determination. Although she is one of the predators he must run from, she is usually more interested in simply driving him away from her. Contrary to the legend that the lover spider lives to seduce as many innocent maidens as possible, there is good reason to believe that it may simply return another evening to mate with a compliant female for a second or third time.
After several weeks or months of maturation, depending on the species, the male tarantula begins to slowly decline and eventually dies. Rarely do they survive winter, and even more rarely do they survive spring (Baerg 1958). To date, there are no reliable data on the lifespan of males of most species, although the authors kept several males that lived for approximately 14-18 months after the final moult.
Undoubtedly, old weak males in nature become easy prey and this is probably why they have a shorter life span than in captivity. In West Texas, the authors collected a large collection of male tarantulas as in early spring, and in mid-April. Most of these males, judging by their emaciated appearance, were obviously survivors from the previous autumn. A small but significant proportion of them (perhaps one in five or six) appeared neither emaciated nor showing signs of loss of stubble or any physical damage.
One would expect that in warmer areas, some species of tarantulas might molt and reproduce much earlier than once thought. Subsequently, Breen (1996) described the mating cycle of Athonopelma anax from southern Texas, in which males matured and mated with females in early spring.
In many parts of the tropics, some tarantulas (e.g., Avicularia genus) molt and reproduce regardless of the season due to stable temperatures, humidity, and food abundance (Charpentier 1992).
Baerg (1928, 1958) and later Minch (1978) argued that the female does not have sufficient time to lay eggs between breeding in early spring and molting in midsummer. If this were true, then such pairing would be inconsistent. However, Breen (1996) has carefully described the situation that occurs with Aphonopelma anax.
The authors' experience with captive Brachypelm tarantulas has shown that matings before December and after midwinter (January in Canada) are usually fruitless. Thus, it turned out that the mating and oviposition seasons differ for each species, and often radically. These creatures constantly give us unexpected surprises, especially when we think we have all the answers.
Motherhood
Baerg (1928) reports that wild female tarantulas living in Arkansas (for example, Aphonopelma hentzi), having laid eggs, close the entrances to their burrows soon after mating and thus overwinter. The sperm donated by the male is carefully given shelter in her spermatheca until next spring. And only next spring she will spin a cocoon the size of Walnut, holding as many as a thousand eggs or more. She will take care of him, carefully ventilating her hole and protecting him from predators. While protecting the offspring, the female can be very aggressive.
The timing of egg laying varies significantly. Here are some of the factors that determine layover timing:
1.
A species of tarantula;
2.
Geographic latitude of the female tarantula's homeland;
3.
Prevailing climate;
4.
Hemisphere.
There may also likely be other factors, but there are so many in reality that any generalizations here may be inappropriate.
Arkansas tarantulas (Athonopelma enzi) typically lay eggs in June or July (Baerg 1958), while those from west Texas lay eggs a month earlier. In captivity, exotic tarantula species can lay eggs in early March. This appears to be the result of keeping them indoors in an artificial climate.
Fertilization of eggs occurs during their laying, and not during mating, as one might assume. Insemination of the female appears to serve at least two functions. This can stimulate her to produce eggs while sequestering the dormant sperm in a convenient, protected location until the right time.
Females of most vertebrates ovulate regardless of whether or not there has been contact with a male. Chickens constantly lay eggs (fertilized or not), and in humans, women undergo ovulation and monthly cycles with no sexual intercourse at all. It is not yet clear whether this also happens in tarantulas or not. The authors kept many females that did not begin producing eggs until they were fertilized by a male. While sleek and slender before, they became bloated and heavy within a few weeks of mating. It can be assumed that mating or the presence of viable sperm in the female's spermatheca prompted her to begin producing eggs.
On the other hand, Baxter (1993) suggests that female tarantulas can produce eggs without mating. This may occur due to the start of the breeding season, the abundance of food available, or even the simple proximity of a male of the relevant species. The authors have many females who look extremely heavy and plump, but who have not mated for many years. If they were full of eggs, Baxter's hypothesis would be confirmed. If they simply turned out to be full of fatty tissue, the previous hypothesis would be confirmed. But the authors cannot sacrifice any of their pets, so this question remains unanswered for now. These two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive and both may be correct depending on the circumstances. These creatures have been around too long not to have developed a vast repertoire of little tricks to confuse us.
With a stable population of 150 to 450 adult tarantulas, most of them female, for more than 25 years, the authors had only one female laying eggs without being fertilized by a male. In this case, a female Afonopelma from Texas lived in captivity for over 3 years and underwent three molts. On the fourth spring she produced a cocoon, but the eggs did not develop. Baxter (1993) also reports the laying of infertile eggs by unfertilized females of Psalmopeus cambridges. In a personal letter, Brin reported that he had observed this phenomenon almost thirty times! We are not sure about the timing of cocoon development for most tarantulas in the wild, but it certainly varies with temperature environment and spider species. Somewhat more information is known about the periods of development of some species of tarantulas when the eggs were kept in an incubator. The periods associated with the development of eggs of various tarantulas are presented in Table XII. It must be emphasized that these data are valid only for artificial incubator conditions.
Larvae of the tarantula Afonopelma enzi emerge from cocoons in July - early August and leave the mother's burrow about a week or a little later (Baerg 1958). Soon after this, the female will begin molting. If she has not mated in time to lay fertilized eggs, she will begin to molt somewhat earlier, perhaps in late spring or early summer. Afonopelma anax from southern Texas lays eggs in June–July and molts in August–early September (Breen 1996). Thus, once mating has occurred, the schedule for the remaining females becomes approximately the same as that of the Afonopelma enzi variety.
Along with the rest of the exoskeleton, the lining spermatheca with the remains of sperm will be discarded, and our lady will again become a virgin.
biofile.ru
The reproduction biology of tarantulas is complex and, it must be said, has not yet been sufficiently studied. Young spiders of both sexes lead a similar lifestyle and actually do not differ in their behavior.
Sexually mature males are very different from females in their lifestyle and appearance in most species. In many species, the males are brightly colored. They are, as a rule, smaller, have proportionally more elongated legs, a different structure of the pedipalps, and also differ from females in much greater mobility.
Puberty in males occurs earlier than in females. The average period of sexual maturity for males is 1.5 years, for females it occurs no earlier than 2 years (in some species the difference is even more divergent in time - 1.5 and 3 years, respectively), so it actually seems impossible for “closely related” crossing of spiders emerging from one cocoon, in natural conditions. However, this is possible in captivity when raising males and females by artificially creating for them different temperature and humidity conditions and feeding regimes from an early age.
Before mating, a mature male weaves a so-called sperm - cobweb, usually having a triangular or quadrangular shape, on the underside of which he secretes a drop of sperm. The sperm is captured by the copulatory apparatus, after which the male begins to search for a female. At this time, his behavior is directly opposite to that of the previous period of life. He leads a wandering lifestyle, is highly active and can be seen moving even during the daytime, covering quite significant distances in search of a female (7-9 km per night ( Shillington et al. 1997).
The detection of a female occurs mainly through touch (vision in no way affects this process: spiders with blurred eyes easily find females) by the odorous trail she leaves on the substrate or web near the burrow (for example, the female Aphonopelma hentzi weaves a ball at the entrance to the burrow from the web).
Having found the female, the male carefully moves inside the hole. When meeting a female, two scenario scenarios are possible.
In the first option, if the female is not ready to mate, she quickly attacks the male, spreading her chelicerae and preparing to grab him. In this case, the male is forced to hastily retreat, otherwise he may not be perceived as a potential partner, but risks turning into a “hearty dinner”, or losing one or more limbs.
In the second scenario, the female, as a rule, does not initially show any interest in the male. In this case, the male lowers his cephalothorax and raises his abdomen, stretching his outstretched front legs and pedipalps forward, backing towards the exit from the hole, thereby attracting the attention of the female and, as it were, inviting her to follow him. From time to time he stops and moves his front legs and pedipalps now to the right, now to the left, shuddering with his whole body so that the female’s interest in him does not wane until they leave the hole and come to the surface. Here, having space to move safely, he feels more confident.
Unlike other species of spiders, which are characterized by complex mating behavior, which consists in performing peculiar “wedding dances”, for example, types of families Araneidae, Salticidae, Lycosidae, or in offering a female recently killed prey (in Pisauridae), courtship by tarantulas is relatively simpler.
The male periodically carefully approaches the female, quickly touches her with the tips of the front pair of legs and pedipalps or “drums” on the substrate. Usually he repeats this procedure several times with minor breaks until he is convinced that the female’s behavior does not pose a danger to him and she will not cause him harm (until now, studies have not been conducted on the presence of features characteristic of the mating behavior of various species tarantulas).
If the female is still passive, the male will slowly approach her, bringing his front paws between her pedipalps and chelicerae, which the female usually spreads when ready to mate. Then he, as it were, rests against them with his tibial hooks in order to take a stable position and tilts her cephalothorax back, “stroking” the lower surface of the base of the abdomen.
If the female expresses readiness to mate (which is also often expressed in frequent "drum" sound, made by kicking the legs on the substrate), he unfolds the embolus of one of the pedipalps and introduces it into the gonopore, located in epigastric groove. The male performs the same action with the second pedipalp. This is actually the moment of copulation itself, which lasts literally a few seconds, after which the male, as a rule, quickly runs away, since usually the female immediately begins to chase him.
Contrary to popular belief that a female often eats her partner after mating, in most cases this does not happen (moreover, males have been known to eat females) if there is enough space for him to move a considerable distance, and the male is able to after some time fertilize several more females. Often a female also mates with different males in one season.
Fertilization egg theft occurs in uterus, with which they communicate seminal receptacles, and after a certain period after copulation(from 1 to 8 months), the duration of which is directly dependent on various conditions (season, temperature, humidity, food availability) and the specific type of tarantula, the female lays eggs, weaving them into cocoon. This whole process takes place in the living chamber of the burrow, which turns into a nest. The cocoon, as a rule, consists of two parts, fastened at the edges. First, the main part is woven, then masonry is laid on it, which is then braided with the covering part. Some species ( Avicularia spp., Theraphosa blondi) weave their “protective hairs” into the walls of the cocoon to protect it from possible enemies.
Unlike most other spiders, the female tarantula guards her clutch and cares for the cocoon, periodically turning it over with the help of chelicerae and pedipalps and moving it depending on changing conditions of humidity and temperature. This is associated with certain difficulties with the artificial incubation of spider eggs at home, which is often advisable, since there are frequent cases of females eating laid cocoons, both as a result of stress caused by anxiety and “for unknown reasons.” For this purpose, collectors in the USA, Germany, England and Australia have developed an incubator, and some hobbyists, taking cocoons from females, take over their “maternal” functions, turning the cocoon by hand several times a day (see also Breeding).
Interestingly, for several species of tarantula spiders, there are known facts of laying several (one or two) cocoons after mating, with a time difference of no more than a month: Hysterocrates spp.., Stromatopelma spp., Holothele spp.., Psalmopoeus spp.., Tapinauchenius spp.., Metriopelma spp.., Pterinochilus spp.. (Rick West, 2002, oral communication), Ephebopus murinus And E. cyanathus (Alex Huuier, 2002, oral communication), Poecilotheria regalis (Ian Evenow, 2002, oral communication). At the same time, the percentage of unfertilized eggs increases significantly in repeated clutches.
The number of eggs laid by a female varies among different species and is related to her size, age, and other factors. Record number of eggs known for species Lasiodora parahybana and is approximately 2500 pieces! On the contrary, in small species it does not exceed 30-60. Incubation periods are also different - from 0.8 to 4 months. Interestingly, arboreal species generally have shorter periods than terrestrial species (see Table).
| № | View | Incubation time* | A source of information |
| 1. | Acanthoscurria musculosa | 83 | Eugeniy Rogov, 2003 |
| 2. | Aphonopelma anax | 68 | John Hoke, 2001 |
| 3. | Aphonopelma caniceps | 64 | McKee,1986 |
| 4. | Aphonopelma chalcodes | 94 | Schultz & Schultz |
| 5. | Aphonopelma hentzi | 76 | McKee,1986 |
| 56 | Baerg, 1958 | ||
| 6. | Aphonopelma seemanni | 86 | McKee,1986 |
| 7. | Avicularia avicularia | 52 | McKee,1986 |
| 39, 40,45 | Garrick Odell, 2003 | ||
| 51 | Stradling, 1994 | ||
| 8. | Avicularia metallica | 68 | Todd Gearhart, 1996 |
| 9. | Avicularia sp. (ex. Peru) | 37 | Emil Morozov, 1999 |
| 59 | Denis A. Ivashov, 2005 | ||
| 10. | Avicularia versicolor | 29 | Thomas Schumm, 2001 |
| 46 | Mikhail F. Bagaturov, 2004 | ||
| 35 | Todd Gearhart, 2001 | ||
| 11. | Brachypelma albopilosum | 72 | McKee,1986 |
| 75, 77 | Schultz & Schultz | ||
| 12. | Brachypelma auratum | 76 | McKee,1986 |
| 13. | Brachypelma emilia | 92 | Schultz & Schultz |
| 14. | Brachypelma smithi | 91 | McKee,1986 |
| 66 | Todd Gearhart, 2001 | ||
| 15. | Brachypelma vagans | 69 | McKee,1986 |
| 71 | Todd Gearhart, 2002 | ||
| 16. | Ceratogyrus behuanicus | 20 | Phil&Tracy, 2001 |
| 17. | Ceratogyrus darlingi | 38 | Thomas Ezendam, 1996 |
| 18. | Cyclosternum fasciatum | 52 | McKee,1986 |
| 19. | Chilobrachys fimbriatus | 73 | V. Sejna, 2004 |
| 20. | Encyocratella olivacea | 28 | V. Kumar, 2004 |
| 21. | Eucratoscelus constrictus | 25 | Rick C. West, 2000 |
| 22 | Eucratoscelus pachypus | 101 | Richard C. Gallon, 2003 |
| 23. | Eupalaestrus campestratus | 49 | Todd Gearhart, 1999 |
| 24. | Eupalaestrus weijenberghi | 76 | Costa&Perez-Miles, 2002 |
| 25. | Grammostola aureostriata | 29 | Todd Gearhart, 2000 |
| 26. | Grammostola burzaquensis | 50-55 | Ibarra-Grasso, 1961 |
| 27. | Grammostola iheringi | 67 | McKee,1986 |
| 28. | Grammostola rosea | 54 | McKee,1986 |
| 29. | Haplopelma lividum | 56 | Rhys A. Bridgida, 2000 |
| 60 | John Hoke, 2001 | ||
| 52 | Mikhail Bagaturov, 2002 | ||
| 30. | Haplopelma minax | 30 | John Hoke, 2001 |
| 31. | Haplopelma sp. "longipedum" | 73 | Todd Gearhart, 2002 |
| 32 | Heterothele villosella | 67 | Amanda Weigand, 2004 |
| 33 | Heteroscodra maculata | 39 | Graeme Wright, 2005 |
| 34 | Holothele incei | 36, 22 | Benoit, 2005 |
| 35. | Hysterocrates scepticus | 40 | Todd Gearhart, 1998 |
| 36. | Hysterocrates gigas | 37, 52 | Mike Jope, 2000 |
| 89 | Chris Sainsburry, 2002 | ||
| 37. | Lasiodora cristata | 62 | Dirk Eckardt, 2000 |
| 38. | Lasiodora difficilis | 68 | Todd Gearhart, 2002 |
| 39. | Lasiodora parahybana | 106 | Dirk Eckardt, 2000 |
| 85 | Eugeniy Rogov, 2002 | ||
| 40. | Megaphobema robustum | 51 | Dirk Eckardt, 2001 |
| 41. | Nhandu coloratovillosus | 59 | Mikhail Bagaturov, 2004 |
| 42. | Oligoxystre argentinense | 37-41 | Costa&Perez-Miles, 2002 |
| 43. | Pachistopelma rufonigrum | 36,40 | S.Dias&A.Brescovit, 2003 |
| 44 | Pamphobeteus sp. platyomma | 122 | Thomas (Germany), 2005 |
| 45. | Phlogiellus inermis | 40 | John Hoke, 2001 |
| 46. | Phlogius crassipes | 38 | Steve Nunn, 2001 |
| 47. | Phlogius stirlingi | 44 | Steve Nunn, 2001 |
| 48 | Phormictopus cancerides | 40 | Gabe Motuz, 2005 |
| 49 | Phormictopus sp. "platus" | 61 | V. Vakhrushev, 2005 |
| 50. | Plesiopelma longistrale | 49 | F.Costa&F.Perez-Miles, 1992 |
| 51. | Poecilotheria ornata | 66 | Todd Gearhart, 2001 |
| 52. | Poecilotheria regalis | 43 | Todd Gearhart, 2002 |
| 77 | Chris Sainsbury, 2005 | ||
| 53. | Psalmopoeus cambridgei | 46 | Alexey Sergeev, 2001 |
| 54. | Psalmopoeus irminia | 76 | Guy Tansley, 2005 |
| 55. | Pterinochilus chordatus | 23, 38 | Mike Jope, 2000 |
| 56. | Pterinochilus murinus | 26, 37 | Mike Jope, 2000 |
| 22, 23, 25 | Phil Messenger, 2000 | ||
| 57. | Stromatopelma calceatum | 47 | Eugeniy Rogov, 2002 |
| 58. | Stromatopelma c. griseipes | 53 | Celerier, 1981 |
| 59 | Thrigmopoeus truculentus | 79, 85, 74 | J.-M.Verdez&F.Cleton, 2002 |
| 60. | Tapinauchenius plumipes | 48 | John Hoke, 2001 |
| 61. | Theraphosa blondi | 66 | Todd Gearhart, 1999 |
| 62. | Vitalius roseus | 56 | Dirk Eckardt, 2000 |
The size of babies born varies widely from 3-5 mm (for example, Cyclosternum spp.. ) up to 1.5 cm in leg span of the goliath tarantula Theraphosa blondi. Newborn spiders of arboreal species, as a rule, are larger than those born from terrestrial tarantulas, and their number is usually noticeably smaller (usually does not exceed 250 pieces). 
Juvenile spiders are very mobile and at the slightest danger they hide, run to the nearest shelter or quickly burrow into the soil. This behavior has been noted for both terrestrial and arboreal species.
Hatching of juveniles from eggs of the same clutch occurs at more or less the same time. Before hatching, small spines are formed at the base of the pedipalps of the embryo - "egg teeth", with the help of which he breaks the shell of the egg and comes into being. Before the so-called postembryonic molt, which usually occurs inside a cocoon, the hatched spider has very thin covers, its appendages are not dismembered, it cannot feed and lives off the yolk sac remaining in the intestine. This life stage is called "prelarva"(according to another classification - 1st stage nymph). After the next molt (3-5 weeks), the prelarva enters the stage "larvae" (nymphs stage 2), also not yet feeding, but slightly more mobile and already having primitive claws on the paws and developed chelicerae ( Vachon, 1957).
From the next ( postembryonic) by molting, young spiders are formed, which, becoming more active and able to feed on their own, come out of the cocoon and at first, as a rule, stick together, and then scatter in different directions, starting to live independently.
Usually, after the juveniles emerge from the cocoon, the mother no longer cares for them, but an interesting feature of the biology of species of the genus Hysterocrates sp. from the island of Sao Tome, which consists in the fact that young spiderlings live with the female for up to six months after leaving the cocoon. At the same time, the female shows real care for her children, not seen in any other member of the tarantula family, actively protecting them from any possible danger and obtaining food for them. Similar facts are known regarding Haplopelma schmidti (E. Rybaltovsky), as well as tarantulas Pamphobeteus spp.. (various sources).
The biology and lifestyle of young spiders are usually similar to those of adult spiders. They set up shelters for themselves and actively hunt for food items of suitable size. The number of molts during a life varies, depending on the size of the spider and its gender (males always have fewer molts), ranging from 9 to 15 per life. The overall lifespan of female tarantula spiders also varies greatly.
Arboreal, even such large spiders as Poecilotheria spp.. , as well as tarantulas of the genus Pterinochilus live no more than 7 - 14 years. Large terrestrial spiders, and especially spiders of America, live in captivity up to 20 years, and according to individual reports, even to a more respectable age (for example, the age of a female Brachypelma emilia , who lived with S. A. Shultz And M. J. Schultz, was estimated to be at least 35 years old).
The life expectancy of males is significantly less and, in general, is limited to 3-3.5 years. The fact is that males, as mentioned above, mature earlier than females (at 1.5-2.5 years), and, as a rule, the average lifespan of male tarantula spiders of the last instar (after the last molt) is five to six months. However, significantly longer periods are known for individual specimens of a number of species.
Thus, according to Dr. Claudio Lipari, the maximum life span of males of the last instar of the Brazilian Grammostola pulchra amounted to at least 27 months, and one copy lived with him for more than four years.
Other long-lived male tarantulas of the last instar, according to Luciana Rosa, the following:
Grammostola rosea- 18 months, Megaphobema velvetosoma - 9 months, Poecilotheria formosa— 11 months, Poecilotheria ornata— 13 months, Poecilotheria rufilata - 17 months.
According to information from a Moscow collector Igor Arkhangelsky last instar male Brachypelma vagans lived in captivity 24 months(however, for the last few months it was fed artificially), and another individual of the same species lived 20 months.
According to a Canadian scientist Rick West adult male tarantula Phormictopus cancerides lived with Allana McKee, having lost the upper segments of the pedipalps after molting, 27 months, and the male Brachypelma albopilosum at the very Rick West — 30 months after reaching maturity and died during the second molt (personal communication).
The following facts of longevity among male tarantulas were noted: Lasiodora parahybana : 3 years Jeff Lee, 2 years 6 months Joy Reed and 2 years 3 months Jim Hitchiner.
Also the male of the species Grammostola rosea lived 2 years 5 months with Jay Staples.
There is a unique case when an amateur Jay Stotsky small male of an arboreal species Poecilotheria regalis molted safely twice! at the last instar, with an interval between molts of 18 months. At the same time, the pedipalps and one chelicerae lost during the first molt were completely restored after the second moult!
It should be true that such cases are known only when tarantulas are kept in captivity.
Regarding the onset of sexual maturity of tarantula spiders, the following, often contradictory, information is available.
Male tarantulas of the genus Avicularia reach sexual maturity by 2.5 years, females by 3 years ( Stradling 1978, 1994). Baerg (Baerg, 1928, 1958) reports that males Aphonopelma spp.. reach maturity at 10-13 years, females at 10-12 years. Tarantulas Grammostola burzaquensis become sexually mature at 6 years of age ( Ibarra-Grasso, 1961), Acanthoscurria sternalis – at 4-6 years ( Galiano 1984, 1992).
The information provided by these authors most likely refers to observations in nature. It is necessary to take into account that in captivity the time for the onset of sexual maturity of tarantula spiders is generally shortened, and often quite significantly.
In conclusion, I would like to note that tarantulas have virtually no natural enemies in captivity.
The only creatures that are hunters of tarantulas in nature are hawk wasps from the family Pompilidae, of which the species of genera are well studied Pepsis And Hemipepsis(the largest reach 10 cm in length), paralyzing the spider, laying an egg on its abdomen, the hatched larva from which, throughout its further development, feeds on such a kind of “canned food” ( Dr. F. Punzo, 1999, S. Nunn, 2002, 2006).
Watch an interesting clip about this.
Another enemy can be considered predatory scolopendras, constantly moving along the surface of the soil in search of food. 
Kind of like Scolopendra gigantea, some specimens of which reach 40 cm in length, are able to cope with a spider of considerable size.
Also representatives of the genus Ethmostigmus from Australia are known as predators of tarantulas of the local fauna.
At the same time, scorpios of childbirth Isometrus, Liocheles, Lychas, Hemilychas , as probably some Urodacus, are not averse to snacking on juvenile tarantulas, and scorpions from the genus Isometroides are generally known to specialize in eating spiders, and can regularly be found in old burrows belonging to tarantula spiders ( S. Nunn, 2006).
In addition to those listed as natural enemies of tarantulas, large spiders have been noted in nature Lycosidae, and for Australia also a spider Latrodectus hasselti, in whose nets the remains of adult male tarantulas were regularly found. And, undoubtedly, among invertebrate animals the main enemy of tarantulas, like other spiders, is ants.
When considering the natural enemies of tarantulas, one cannot help but dwell on some vertebrates. Australian arachnologist Stephen Nunn repeatedly observed as the largest frog in Australia Litoria infrafrenata(white-lipped tree frog) caught and ate sexually mature males. Similarly, the American aga toad introduced into Australia ( Bufo marinus), which is one of the natural enemies of theraphosides in Central America, eats the latter in Australia. In this regard, it is interesting that we were in a burrow with a female and 180 young tarantulas of the species that had just emerged from the cocoon. Selenocosmia sp.. a small specimen of the aga toad, which probably “eaten up” young tarantulas ( S. Nunn, 2006).
The development cycle from egg to adult is on average 20-21 days.
These flies, called humpback flies, can be confused with other flies - the well-known fruit flies.
However, fruit flies are extremely rare in tarantula terrariums and are distinguished by their red eyes.
I would also like to note that, in addition to the previously mentioned species of frogs, representatives of a small group of dipterous insects are also found in spider burrows.
They lay eggs directly on the host spider itself or in the soil of its burrow. In this case, the larvae concentrate in the area of the tarantula’s mouth or in the substrate and feed on organic debris.
Interestingly, for the three South American tarantula species, Theraphosa blondi, Megaphobema robustum And Pamphobeteus vespertinus are characterized by their own specific species of dipterans.
In home terrariums, as a rule, there are representatives of two groups of winged insects - humpback flies of the family Phoridae(V Lately widespread among collectors all over the world) and the so-called “pot flies”.
The vast majority of “pot flies” found in tarantula terrariums are species of mosquitoes of the family Fungivoridae And Sciaridae, and are found in tarantula containers with insufficient ventilation due to prolonged waterlogging of the substrate and its subsequent decay, as well as decomposition in conditions of high humidity of food debris and spider feces, as well as plant remains, resulting in the formation of a fungal microculture, which their larvae feed on .
Fans of growing flowers in greenhouses regularly encounter these insects. They are also sometimes found in potted indoor plants, which is where they apparently got their name. They are smaller in size and thinner than the Diptera family Phoridae, with dark wings and actively fly.
Gobat flies of the family Phoridae they look more pointed and humpbacked compared to the “potted” ones, they fly very rarely - only when disturbed, mainly moving along the substrate with characteristic jerks.
You can get rid of them by replacing the substrate and disinfecting the tarantula's terrarium, transplanting it into a new container. Drying the substrate also helps, making sure to provide the tarantula with a container of water to drink.
In general, they are completely safe for healthy spiders, but they can cause anxiety. However, these problems, as a rule, do not arise if there is good ventilation of the terrarium and the use of a ventilation mesh through which the penetration of dipterans is impossible.
However, it should be taken into account that humpback larvae can penetrate cocoons broken off by tarantulas and eat eggs and developing larvae, as well as develop on weakened and sick individuals. Adults can also be carriers of various diseases, incl. transport nematode eggs.
Finally, I note that in terrariums with tarantulas, representatives of invertebrates introduced, usually with the substrate, are occasionally found - collembolas and wood lice, which also do not harm them. At the same time, some collectors specifically populate terrariums with tarantulas with a culture of tropical wood lice Trichorhina tomentosa , because they feed on the waste products of spiders and destroy excess organic residues in the substrate.
What do you need to know about tarantulas, what difficulties arise when keeping and handling them, and what conditions need to be created so that they not only feel good in your home, but also reproduce?
When you shout “spider,” most people will shudder, because they don’t associate this word with anything good. The first thing that comes to mind is that spiders are poisonous, and non-poisonous ones are simply unpleasant... they look so strange, and they weave webs in the corners. But once you get to know these creatures better, fear will be replaced, if not by delight, then by respect. Few can compare with them in the variety of structure, lifestyle and complexity of behavior. From a systematic point of view, spiders form a separate order of the Arachnida class, numbering 46,000 species! And this is not a complete list, because new species of spiders continue to be discovered to this day. Their closest relatives are ticks, salpugs and scorpions, and their distant ancestors are marine arthropods like relict horseshoe crabs. But they have nothing in common with insects, to which spiders are often classified.
The two-horned spider (Caerostris sexcuspidata), which lives in the arid regions of Africa, imitates a dry tree using its 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 significantly larger in size than the chest. In most species, the stalk is so short that it is almost invisible, but myrmecia spiders, which mimic ants, can boast of a thin waist.
A spider from the genus Myrmecium sp. pretends to be an ant, but its trick 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 legs, spiders have several more pairs of limbs. The first, called chelicerae, is located near the mouth. According to their purpose, chelicerae are something between mandibles and arms. With their help, spiders grab and cut up 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 the pedipalps. They are also located on the cephalothorax, but are longer and more like legs. This is a specific tool with which spiders strain out liquid, semi-digested tissues of the victim. Males have specially shaped pedipalps, which they use to transfer sperm to the female. At the tip of the abdomen, several pairs of limbs have mutated and turned into arachnoid warts. Each such wart is connected to a large arachnoid gland located in the abdomen. Arachnoid glands are different types and each of them produces its own type of web.
An enlarged portrait of an earth wolf spider (Trochosa terricola) allows you to delve into the details of the spider's anatomy: black ocelli are visible on the sides of a pair of large eyes; the brown grasping 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 the lungs or trachea. It is noteworthy that they have 4 lungs (or the same number of tracheas), and there are species that have a pair of both. The digestive system of spiders is relatively simple. Almost all species have poisonous glands, the secretion of which is fatal to their victims, and sometimes to large animals. The spider injects saliva containing highly active enzymes into prey paralyzed by the toxin. This juice partially digests the tissues of the prey; the hunter can only suck in the semi-liquid food. The outer coverings of spiders are not stretchable, so for uniform growth they have to molt frequently. During molting and immediately after it, the spider is defenseless; during this period it does not hunt, but sits out in a secluded place.
The Dolophones spider (Dolophones sp.) owes its camouflage to its protective coloration and pose at the same time.
The most amazing thing about the anatomy of these animals is their sense organs. Compared to other invertebrates, spiders have well-developed and diverse organisms. 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 180° view. True, there are species with six, four and even two eyes, but this is not so important, because all spiders see only spots of light (but at the same time they distinguish colors!). The exception is stray jumping spiders, which do not weave catching webs, but attack their prey with their “bare hands.” For an accurate throw, they have developed acute binocular vision, which allows them to distinguish the clear contours of prey and correctly estimate the distance to it. Cave spider species are completely blind.
To overcome your 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 species shown in the photo, 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 their paws allow them to detect minute vibrations not only of the web, but also of the air itself. You could say that spiders hear with their feet. It has been observed that the sound of a violin awakens the hunting instinct of some spiders. Probably the air vibrations 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, and crackle, apparently to scare away enemies. The small ones sing mating songs, but so quietly that this sound is not perceptible to the human ear, but the females hear it perfectly. The sound of spiders arises from the friction of different parts of the body from each other, that is, according to the same principle as that of grasshoppers. But the abilities of spider legs do not end there. It turns out that spiders can smell with their legs! To be fair, it must be said that olfactory receptors are also located on the abdomen. Smell is important not so much for catching prey as for procreation. Following the odorous trail of a female, eight-legged knights cover long distances and unmistakably distinguish a friend 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 is up and where is down, which is not surprising for animals that spend most of their lives in limbo. Finally, spiders do not have taste buds, but they do have taste. Again, they distinguish tasty prey from tasteless ones with their feet!
Female Theraphosa blondi in the natural environment.
The sizes of spiders vary widely. The body length of large tarantula spiders reaches up to 11 cm, one of them - Blond's theraphosis - even entered the Guinness Book of Records with a leg span of 28 cm. Tiny spiders are just as amazing. Thus, the smallest species - pato digua - grows to only 0.37 mm!
The Patu digua spider is so small that it is difficult to distinguish even with such magnification that the papillary pattern of a human finger is visible.
Due to the spherical or pear-shaped abdomen, the body outline of most spiders is closer to a circle. But in nephilic orb weavers the body is elongated; in some species the abdomen can be diamond-shaped, heart-shaped, or strongly flattened.
Female Gasteracantha cancriformis ( Gasteracantha cancriformis) in his fishing net. This type of spider got its name (loosely translated from Latin as “crab-shaped spiny belly”) for unusual shape bodies, unlike crab spiders, so named for their ability to move sideways.
The outline of the body 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 of the genus 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 coloring of these arthropods can, without exaggeration, be anything, but given the predatory nature of spiders, it is almost always protective. Accordingly, the species of the temperate zone are usually painted inconspicuously: in gray, black, brown tones - to match the earth, sand, and dry grass. Tropical spiders are often brightly colored and have complex patterns.
Tveitesias are exceptionally beautiful, whose body is encrusted with shiny spots that look like sequins.
Silver-spotted Thwaitesia argentiopunctata.
In terms of their territory coverage, spiders can easily be 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 Arctic islands and highlands, in fresh water bodies, human habitations. By the way, spiders are one of the highest mountain animals - the Himalayan jumping spider lives on Everest at an altitude of 7000 m!
The prey of the Himalayan jumping spider (Euophrys omnisuperstes) are insects carried to Everest by the wind.
The habitat has left its mark on the lifestyle of different species. What all spiders have in common is perhaps predation and the associated tendency to be alone, although there are some exceptions. Social Philoponella and Stegodiphus prefer to build a common network, on which they hunt together...
Saracen stegodyphus (Stegodyphus sarasinorum) unitely attack an unlucky butterfly. This species lives in India, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
and the jumping spider of Bagheera Kipling, contrary to his predatory name, herbivore.
Kipling's bagheera (Bagheera kiplingi) carries in its chelicerae a bloodless victim - succulent appendages that grow on the leaves of some tropical acacias. Trees thus attract ants, which simultaneously protect them from pests, and the herbivorous spider uses these gifts free of charge.
Most spiders are sedentary, although among jumping spiders and wolf spiders there are many vagabonds who roam freely across the open spaces and attack oncoming insects of suitable size. Homebody species settle down in different ways. The most primitive of them hide from prying eyes in depressions in the soil: this makes it more convenient to hunt and defend themselves. Side-walking spiders (crab spiders) hide among flower petals; 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 unfolds before us: the beauty actually fell into the clutches of a side-walking spider, indistinguishable in color from the flower on which it hunts.
But good camouflage does not solve all problems, because it is not enough to grab the victim, you also need to hold it, and looking out for prey for days on end is tiring. Therefore, spiders gradually moved from active ambush hunting to more reliable and passive methods of capturing prey. At the first stage, they began to dig deep holes, lining them with cobwebs for greater convenience.
The trapping tube of Cebrennus rechenbergi is woven from cobwebs encrusted with grains of sand on the outside.
More advanced species began to stretch threads from the burrow to neighboring stems - the result was an ideal warning system: the owner can rest in the burrow, and a crawling insect, having caught the web, will notify the spider of its approach and will be taken by surprise by the sudden appearance of a predator from underground. In some species, such signaling threads have developed into complex web funnels and tubes.
Other species began to improve not the warning system, but methods of prey retention. To do this, they began to close the holes with earthen plugs and not simple ones, but with hinges! The spider, sitting on the inside of the hatch, keeps it closed, so that it is completely impossible to see its home from the surface. As soon as the victim catches the signal web, the spider jumps out, drags the stunned insect into the hole, slams the lid and paralyzes it with a bite. In this situation, even strong prey has no chance of escaping.
An opened spider burrow with a raised lid and signal webs stretching in all directions.
However, burrow hunting does not allow spiders to get off the ground, so the most advanced species stopped building dens and began to be content with only a web, stretching it among grass, leaves and other above-ground objects.
When creating a web, the spider places it in places where prey is most likely to move, but so that gusts of wind, vibrations of branches, and movements of large animals do not tear it.
The fact is that spiders spend a lot of scarce protein on creating webs, so they value this material. They often eat torn webs, using them as raw materials for the production of new ones. The structure of the web ideally takes into account the characteristics of the favorite prey of a particular type of spider: in one case it can be threads randomly stretched in all directions, in another it can be a sector of a circle stretched in the corner of the shelter, in a third it can be a full circle.
A rainbow play of light on a circular web stretched in a gorge in Karijini National Park (Australia).
A thin cobweb seems fragile, but in terms of the thickness of the thread, it is one of the strongest fibers on Earth: a cobweb with a conventional thickness of 1 mm can withstand weight from 40 to 261 kg!
Water drops are much larger in diameter than spider webs, but cannot break them. When they dry, the web, due to its elasticity, will restore its shape.
In addition, the web is very elastic (can stretch up to a third of its length) and sticky, so the struggling victim only entangles itself even more with its movements. The web of nephil orb weavers is so strong that it can even hold a bird.
A tern becomes entangled in the web of a nephila orb weaver in the Seychelles. There is no threat to her from the spider, since the bird is too large for him. Usually in such cases, nephils simply cut off the webs so that the struggling prey does not ruin their entire network. However, the sticky web glues the feathers together, which can cause the bird to lose the ability to fly and die of starvation.
Some spiders additionally strengthen the web with special threads - stabiliments.
The North American spider Uloborus glomosus strengthened 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 wander among coastal vegetation in search of semi-aquatic insects, but on occasion they easily move along the surface of the water and even dive into its thickness, holding on to plants.
When crossing a body of water, the fringe hunter (Dolomedes fimbriatus), like water strider bugs, rests on the 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 extends hunting threads. The body of this spider is covered with hairs that hold air bubbles. The spider periodically floats to the surface in order to replenish 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.
A water spider (Argyroneta aquatica) and the air bell it created. The body of the spider itself is also surrounded by an air bubble, giving it a silvery tint.
Spiders breed in the tropics all year round, in the temperate zone - once a year, in the summer. Typically, male spiders are much smaller than females (in some species, 1500 times!), less often - almost the same size as them, and only in the water spider the males are a third larger than their females. In addition to their size, males, as a rule, also stand out for their 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 scent of the female, he begins to solve the main problem: how to get close to his voracious and huge friend without awakening her hunting instinct? Different species adhere different strategies. Some spiders warn of their appearance with a characteristic twitching of the web - this “bell” should make it clear to the female that this is not prey, but it does not always work, and often the suitor has to run away as fast as he can. Other males build a small mating network next to the female’s web: by twitching it rhythmically, they invite their friend to become more intimately acquainted. Male wandering spiders that do not spin webs perform a mating dance, raising their legs in a certain sequence, like traffic controllers. In some species, daredevils manage to involve the spider in the dance. Males of the amazing Pisaura mirabilis rely on a proven technique: 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 inserts the pedipalps into the spermatheca of the female, sometimes entangling her with a web for safety.
Acrobatic sketch performed by a male peacock spider. In addition to raising their paws, males of all species of this genus also display 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 court one female and then they start fights among themselves. It happens that a female mates successively with several males. After mating, the spider often eats one or all partners. In some species, males survive by fleeing or stealing.
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 partners’ strengths are too unequal. The same method is used by some types of cross spiders.
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 eggs in a web-like cocoon.
The cocoon of the brown agroeca brunnea is two-chambered: the upper chamber contains eggs, and the lower chamber contains a nursery 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; the color can be white, pink, green, golden, striped.
The cocoons of Gasteracantha cancriformis are as unusual as these spiders themselves. Females attach their golden-black-striped cradles to the underside of the leaves.
If in relationships with males spiders show the dark side of their nature, then in dealing with offspring they show the light side. Females carefully attach cocoons in a secluded corner of the fishing net, their own nest, or burrow, and stray species carry them with them, holding them with chelicerae or gluing them to the abdomen. Females of the Venezuelan common spider (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 spiderlings are left to their own devices. Until the end of the first three molts, they stay crowded together, and then scatter. Females who carry cocoons with them often take care of their offspring and spider after birth. They carry babies on their bodies and provide food.
A female of a species of Pisaura (Pisaura sp.) with a precious burden glued to her abdomen.
Young spiders living in open landscapes often resort to dispersal using webs. To do this, they climb higher on a stem or twig and release a web, but do not attach it as when weaving a net, but leave it dangling free. When the thread is long enough, the wind picks it up along with the spider and carries it far, sometimes hundreds of kilometers away. The years of such a web are especially noticeable in August-September.
A web with a brood of spiderlings. While the babies are small, they stay crowded.
In species of the temperate zone, wintering often takes place in the egg stage, but if young spiders overwinter, they often demonstrate resistance to cold and can appear on the snow during winter thaws. Most small spiders live no more than a year, the largest tarantula spiders in nature live up to 7-8 years, and in captivity they can live up to 20.
This is not snow, but a carpet of cobwebs covering the shore of one of the Australian 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 caught in 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 burrows are more likely to encounter flightless beetles and Orthoptera.
A very unusual method of hunting is used by the Hutchinson's Mastophora (Mastophora hutchinsoni). She weaves a web with a sticky drop at the end, hangs with this boleadoras in her outstretched paw and waves it until some insect sticks to the drop.
The largest tarantula spiders hunt mainly on small vertebrates - lizards, snakes, frogs. Occasionally, small birds (usually chicks) become their prey, which is reflected in their name and at the same time gave rise to the prejudice that tarantulas eat only birds.
Deinopis spiders (Deinopis sp.) first weave a square web, and then, holding it straight, sneak up and throw it on the prey.
Amphibiotic and water spiders catch tadpoles, aquatic insect larvae, fish fry and even small adult fish. Some species of spiders have a narrow food specialization, for example, they hunt only ants or spiders of other species.
Spiders never attack large vertebrates, but some poisonous spiders may bite in self-defense. Spider venom can be local or general. The local venom causes severe pain at the site of the bite, redness (blue discoloration), swelling and tissue death, in some cases so deep that internal organs are exposed. General poison causes headache, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, mental agitation, skin rash, heart palpitations, kidney dysfunction, and in severe cases, suffocation and death. Fortunately, most poisonous spiders belong to tropical exotics, and among those common in densely populated areas, the most dangerous are the South Russian tarantula and karakurt.
The South Russian tarantula (Lycosa singoriensis), although notorious, is not as dangerous as the karakurt.
These spiders live in the grass of 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 mass deaths of grazing camels, sheep, and horses. Karakurt poison 15 times stronger than poison viper, but unlike a snake bite, the spider bite is shallow, so cauterization of the bite site with a burning match is effective as first aid. True, this measure is life-saving only if applied immediately (within 1-2 minutes). If first aid was not provided, then the victim’s life can only be saved in a 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, and frogs. Bustards, nostrils and dormouse do not give in even to poisonous species: the birds fill their stomachs with karakurts, and the animals hunt for tarantulas. Among the invertebrates there are also brave ones who are ready to snack on their eight-legged fellow. Spiders are attacked by praying mantises, mole crickets, predatory beetles and even... flies, although not ordinary ones, but predatory ones.
These female scorpion spiders (Arachnura melanura) exhibit intraspecific color diversity. Females of this species have an elongated abdomen, which they can move like a scorpion. Despite their menacing appearance, they do not have a stinger, and the bite of these spiders is painful, but not dangerous. Males are smaller and of normal shape.
Dead tarantula infected with cordyceps. Outgrowths similar to deer antlers are fruiting bodies mushroom.
This Thai argiope (Argiope sp.) sits in a fishing net with its legs folded in pairs and extended 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 defense (some of them also serve as adaptations for hunting). This should include patronizing connotation and body shape, as well as special poses.
Some spiders freeze in the center of the web with their legs outstretched, becoming like a stick; in this position, phrynarachnes and pasilobuses imitate bird excrement and even emit a corresponding smell that attracts flies!
Seeing danger, nomadic species take flight; spiders weaving webs, on the contrary, land on the ground; some species take a threatening pose with their paws raised high; small spiders shake the web so that their contours in the trembling network seem to blur.
The sickle-shaped pasilobus (Pasilobus lunatus) is indistinguishable from the excrement of small animals, but it only looks like that in sunlight.
As if as a reward for its unassuming appearance, nature endowed this spider with the ability to glow in ultraviolet light.
Poisonous spiders bite, and tarantula spiders… shake themselves, while the hairs covering their body break off and rise into the air. If they enter the respiratory tract or skin, they cause irritation.
Rechenberg's already familiar cerebrennus never ceases to amaze: in case of danger, he flees by tumbling over his head!
It can only be surpassed by the golden-yellow carparachna that lives 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/sec. This speed is not so low, because to achieve it, the carparachna must make 40 somersaults over its head!
Paraplectana spider (Paraplectana sp.) dressed as a ladybug.
Some burrow spiders create three-chamber underground shelters to protect themselves from wasps: if the enemy managed to break into the first door, the spider moves to the next compartment of the burrow, which is also locked with a lid, and so on. In this case, the burrows can have such a configuration that the enemy is simply not able to find the spider in the underground labyrinth.
Female truncated cyclocosmia (Cyclocosmia truncata). This burrow spider, originally from Mexico, uses the most original method of defense - it closes the entrance to the burrow with its own body. The blunt end of the abdomen perfectly matches the size of the hole, so that a perfect plug is obtained, which is very difficult to pull out from the outside.
The front side of the abdomen of Cyclocosmia resembles an ancient seal.
Spiders have long evoked mixed feelings among people. On the one hand, they were feared because of their unpleasant appearance and poisonousness. The infamous karakurt in North America received the nickname “black widow”, and the word “karakurt” itself translated from Kazakh means “black death”. The subconscious fear of spiders is so strong that some people even now, even today, with virtually no contact with dangerous species, are terrified of these arthropods - such a mental disorder 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 derive practical benefits from this. Even in Ancient China, they knew how to make a special “fabric of the eastern sea” from spider webs; Polynesians used thick spider webs for sewing and making fishing nets. In Europe in the 18th-19th centuries, isolated attempts were made to make fabric and clothing from spider webs; in modern industry, spider webs are used in instrument making. However, it was not possible to begin the industrial production of this material due to the difficulties of maintaining and breeding a huge number of producers. Nowadays, spiders are bred in captivity as exotic pets, and the most popular among hobbyists are large tarantula spiders, which are easy to observe. But other species of these arthropods also deserve protection as useful and very effective regulators of the number of harmful insects.
Brachypelma smithi (female) is one of the most popular tarantula spiders. Due to massive catching for sale in its homeland, 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 nature of reproduction in tarantulas is very complex, and in our time very little studied. Young males and females have similar lifestyles and are almost impossible to distinguish by their behavior.
I distinguish pubescent males from females by the way of life they lead and by their appearance. In most species of tarantula, the males are brightly colored. They are often much smaller in size than females and have proportionately larger elongated paws and a different arrangement of pedipalps, thereby differing from females in greater mobility.
Sexually, males mature earlier than females. On average, males reach sexual vision at 1.5 years, while females reach maturity no earlier than 2 years (in some species the difference is even greater - 1.5 and 3 years). “Closely related” mating of spiders that emerged from the same cocoon remains impossible under natural conditions. But such crossing is still possible when the spiders grew up in captivity, by artificially creating different temperature and moisture conditions for the spiders for a feeding regime from an early age.
Mature male, weaves what is called a sperm web before mating. This sperm web is shaped like a triangle or quadrangle, into the lower part of which he secretes drops of sperm. The sperm is captured by the copulatory apparatus, after which the male begins his search for a female. At such times, the spider behaves diametrically opposite to constant life. During the mating period, the male wanders, is very active and can be noticed when he moves even in the daytime. Male tarantulas travel approximately 7 - 9 km in one night alone in search of their female.
The male finds the female only with the help of its sensation (the spider’s vision does not affect these searches in any way: the male very quickly finds a female with blurred eyes) by the smell of the trace that she leaves on the rock or web near her burrow (for example, a female Aphonopelma hentzi near the entrance to her the hole is woven by a small ball of cobweb).
Finally, having finished his search, the male moves into the hole. Thus, having met a female, there may be 2 variations of this event:
In the first option, if the female is still not ready for mating, then she begins to very quickly attack the male, spreading her chelicerae in order to kill the male. In this situation, the male must retreat, or he has a chance:
1) be a “nourishing” food;
2) to be left without one or a pair or three limbs. Since the female initially does not perceive him as her sexual partner.
2nd option. In this case, the female may often show no interest in her partner. In such cases, the male lowers his cephalothorax and raises his abdomen, stretching out his front paws and pedipalps in front of him, then he begins to back away towards the exit, in this way the male tries to attract the attention of the female (it seems to be inviting her to follow him) . After some time, the spider stops and again moves its front legs in different directions - to the left or to the right. And with all this, he does not forget to raise his body so that the female’s interest in him is not lost until the couple leaves the hole and goes outside. When the male is not outside again, he will not feel confident and will not be able to move around safely.
Male courtship- tarantulas are much simpler than other types of spiders. Other spiders are characterized by very unusual mating behavior, it consists in performing peculiar so-called “mating dances”, for example in species such as Araneidae, Salticidae, Lycosidae, or the male offers the female recently killed prey (as in Pisauridae).
The male spider begins to slowly approach the female, instantly touching her with the front pair of his limbs and pedipalps, or begins to knock his paws on the substrate. As a rule, the male periodically repeats these actions from time to time to make sure that the female will not harm him in any way. To date, no research has yet been carried out to determine whether there are any behavioral features of other tarantula species during crossing.
If the female is still behaving passively, the male will gradually approach her, moving his front pair of legs between the pedipalps and chelicerae, which she places when she is ready to mate. Then the male seems to press into them with his tibial hooks in order to take a stable position and pushes back the female’s cephalothorax, “stroking” the lower part at the base of the abdomen.
When a female shows her fullness readiness to mate(this is also often manifested in the abundant “drumming” sound that she makes with her paws hitting the substrate), the male wraps embolus 1 of the pedipalps and inserts it into the gonopore, which is located in the epigastric groove. The spider repeats the same procedure with the 2nd pedipalp. Strictly speaking, this is the very moment of copulation. All this happens within a couple of seconds. Often, the male quickly crawls away after this process, as the female will follow him.
It is known that the female eats her partner after mating, but this is not at all the case, i.e. often this does not happen ( frequent cases, when the male eats the female, and not vice versa), if the male has enough space for him to move away, then he can fertilize several more females afterwards. The spider can mate with several males in one season.
The eggs are fertilized in the uterus, the spermatic receptacles come into contact with it, and after a certain period during copulation (1-8 months), such a long process directly depends on different conditions (seasons, temperature changes, amount of moisture and food), and of course a certain type of tarantula When weaving a cocoon, the female lays her eggs there. All this action takes place in the inhabited chamber of the hole, and then it transforms into a nest. The cocoon is usually made up of 2 parts, which are fastened at the edges. Initially, the main part is woven, then the masonry is laid on it, and then it is woven with the covering part. Selected species(Avicularia spp., Theraphosa blondi) braid their “protective hairs” into the walls of the cocoons to protect it from unwanted enemies.
Unlike other types of spiders, the female tarantula protects and cares for her clutch. Sometimes she turns the cocoon over with the help of her chelicerae and pedipalps. She can also move the cocoon if the temperature begins to fluctuate and the humidity level drops or rises. This is due to certain difficulties in artificially incubating spider eggs at home. There are many cases where a female ate her laid cocoons due to stress or for reasons unknown to science. For this purpose, American, German, English and Australian collectors invented the incubator. Lovers simply take the cocoons from the female, thereby taking on the “mother’s responsibilities”; they twist the cocoons with their own hands, several times a day.
It is curious that for some varieties of tarantula spiders the following fact is known:
After successful mating, females lay several cocoons, with some gap in time, as a rule, this is no more than one month:
Hysterocrates spp., Stromatopelma spp., Holothele spp., Psalmopoeus spp., Tapinauchenius spp., Metriopelma spp., Pterinochilus spp., Ephebopus spp. and etc. What is most surprising is that the percentage of unfertilized eggs increases noticeably in repeated clutches.
The number of eggs that a female lays certainly differs depending on the species and directly depends on her size, age and other factors. The largest number of eggs is known for the species Lasiodora parahybana and is approximately 2.5 thousand pieces! In small spiders, the number of eggs does not exceed 30-60 pieces.
Incubation time: also different - 0.8 - 6 months. It is very interesting that tree species tend to have shorter lines than terrestrial species.
Average incubation temperature– 26-28°C, humidity should be 80%, only for such genera of tarantulas as Xenesthis , Megaphobema, the incubation temperature should not exceed 25°C.
Sizes born to the light of small spiders on average from 2 to 5 mm (for example, Cyclosternum) and up to 1.5 cm in the leg span of the goliath tarantula Theraphosa blondi. Newly born spiders of arboreal species are often larger than those born to terrestrial tarantulas, but the number of babies is usually much smaller (no more than 250). Newly born tarantulas are very mobile, and at the least danger they hide and run to a nearby shelter or very quickly bury themselves in the substrate. This behavior of spiders is typical for all types of spiders (arboreal, burrow, ground).
Young spiders of the same clutch hatch at approximately the same time. Before hatching, tiny spines are formed at the base of the pedipalp of the embryo - “egg teeth”, with the help of which the spider breaks the shell of the egg and is born “into the world”. For the so-called post-embryonic molting, which most often occurs inside the cocoon, the newly born baby has very thin integuments, his appendages are not separated, he still cannot feed himself, therefore he lives off the accumulated yolk, which remains in the intestines. This one of the life stages is called “prelarva” (after which they turn into stage 1 nymphs). After the next molt (3-5 weeks), the prelarva turns into the “larval” stage (2nd stage nymph), also a non-feeding individual, but more or less mobile and already having the smallest claws on the paws and developed chelicerae (Vachon, 1957) .
With subsequent (postembryonic) molt Young spiders begin to form, which become more active and able to feed themselves, crawl out of the cocoon and for the first time, most often, stay in a heap, and then scatter in all directions and begin to live independently.
Most often, after young spiders emerge from the cocoon, the female is no longer worried about them, but is very interesting feature nature in the genus Hysterocrate s from the island of Sao Tome, Pamphobeteus, Pterinochilus. This feature is that after birth, the spiders live next to the female for about six months. With all this, the female shows true, maternal love for her children. This feature was noticed only in this species; in other species this phenomenon has not yet been noticed (but there are some exceptions here). The mother very actively protects her children from any possible danger and obtains food for them herself. Similar facts are known with such a species as Haplopelma schmidti (E. Rybaltovsky).
Nature and lifestyle The lives of young spiders are most often very similar to the lives of adult spiders. They make their own burrows and hunt a lot to get their own food, which is an acceptable size for them. The number of sheddings varies throughout life. The amount of molt depends on the size of the tarantula and its gender (in males the number is always less than in females), for example, 9 – 15 molts per life. The average lifespan of female tarantula spiders is also very different compared to males.
Woody, and even such big spiders, like Poecilotheria, as well as tarantulas of the genus Pterinochilus, live no more than 15 years. Large terrestrial, namely American spiders, live in a terrarium from 25 years, and according to some facts, even to an older age (for example, the age of the female Brachypelma emilia, who lived with S.A. Schultz and M.J. Schultz, was approximately 35 years).
The lifespan of males is significantly less, on average 3-5 years. Due to the fact that males reach sexual maturity much earlier than females (at 1.5-4 years), and, often, average length The life of male tarantulas in their last molt (after the appearance of sexual characteristics in males) ranges from 5 months to 1.5 years. But for some species samples much longer periods are known (6 years).
According to Dr. Claudio Lipari, the life span of the last instar males of the Brazilian Grammostola pulchra is no less than 2.5 years, and one species lived for about 5 years.
The rest of the long-lived male tarantulas of the last age, according toLucian Rosa's post is as follows:
Grammostola rosea - 18 months,
Megaphobema velvetosoma - 9 months,
Poecilotheria formosa - 11 months,
Poecilotheria ornata - 13 months,
Poecilotheria rufilata - 17 months.
According to the report of the Canadian scientist Rick West, a sexually mature male tarantula Phormictopus cancerides lived with Allan McKee, although after his moult he lost the upper segments of the pedipalps - 27 months, and the male Brachypelma albopilosum with Rick West himself - 2.5 years after the onset of sexual maturity and died during the next moulting.
We also know about a unique case when amateur Jay Stotsky had a male with small in size The tree species Poecilotheria regalis molted very successfully 2 times! at the latter age, the intervals between molts were 18 months. But with all this, the pedipalps and one chelicera that he lost during the first molt were completely restored after the second moult!
True, it should be said that such cases became known only when tarantulas were kept in a terrarium.
As for the onset of sexual maturity of tarantula spiders, the following information is usually contradictory.
Males of the genus Aphonopelma reach sexual maturity at 10-13 years, females at 10-12 years. Tarantulas Grammostola burzaquensis become sexually mature at 6 years (Ibarra-Grasso, 1961), Acanthoscurria sternalis - at 4-6 years (Galiano 1984, 1992).
Thank you for your attention!
Spider breeding
Today, more and more often, our compatriots have exotic pets in their homes and, moreover, decide not only to simply care for them, but also to breed them. But, as you yourself understand, if the specifics of its content are one thing (not a very complicated science that requires, first of all, desire and skills from you), then breeding spiders is a completely different, more complex and responsible activity . If you are not afraid of difficulties, and have set yourself the goal of breeding spiders (a fairly profitable occupation, by the way), you have the strength and desire, time and opportunity, then our publication will help you, which we decided to devote to questions breeding spiders at home. So, be patient and attentive - today you will learn a lot of useful and interesting information, and how you learn it will determine whether you can breed spiders in your terrarium or not...
Physiology of house spiders
In fact, the physiology and biology of reproduction of house 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 appearance of such an exotic pet serves as a hint to the owner of spiders and the answer to the question - where is the female spider and where is the male. So,
sexually mature males, as a rule, always have bright colors, proportional and elongated legs, a special structure of the pedipalps, and are distinguished by great mobility.
By the way, they reach puberty earlier than females, who look somewhat gray compared to 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-corner shape. It secretes a drop of inseminating liquid onto the underside of such a web. After such a “network” is ready in every sense of the word, 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 during the night in order to find a female.
The spider searches for the “lady of the heart” in a very interesting way - using exclusively the senses of touch. He follows the female's trail and almost always finds her. But, it is quite clear that when living in a terrarium, whether he finds a female to mate with or not will depend on you, as the owner of the spider.
Spiders mating
If you seriously decide to start breeding spiders, then take care in advance of a neutral territory for mating of these creatures and a female spider. And, after you notice that your spider has begun to weave a ritual web, start trying to cross spiders. To do this, first place the female and then the male spider in a neutral terrarium.
If the female spider has other plans and “children” are not included in them, most likely she will attack the male spider. In this case, it is recommended to immediately remove 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, can end in the death of one of the spiders or self-harm and severed limbs. By the way, many people mistakenly think that the female eats the male spider. So, it doesn't always happen this way. If the male spider is strong enough, he can cope with the female and then, instead of thinking about where to place the little spiderlings, you will think about where to get another female, instead of the one that died in the paws of the male spider.
If the female spider is ready to mate, she will initially simply ignore the male. His task will be to attract her attention with a ritual dance, and lure the female out of the shelter, where she could hide at the sight of a stranger spider. After this, 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 several seconds. At the end of them, he quickly runs away to the other end of the terrarium, since the spider can change her mood and attack him. It is recommended to remove the male immediately after mating in order to avoid unpleasant incidents.
At one time, a male is able to fertilize several females. Likewise, a female can mate with several males in one season.
Features of the behavior of a female spider
The structure of a female spider
Depending on many factors - season, temperature in the terrarium, humidity, availability of food, etc., fertilization of eggs in the uterus can occur 1-8 months after mating.
The female lays eggs and weaves them into a cocoon. The cocoon itself consists of 2 parts, fastened at the edges. It is noteworthy that to protect themselves from 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 watches the cocoon, turns it over and can move with it inside the terrarium. In fact, there is a completely logical explanation for this behavior - depending on humidity and temperature, the female looks for optimally comfortable conditions for her spiderlings.
If you want your idea to be successful and small spiders to be born, try not to irritate the female during this period and protect her from stress. Since there are often cases when, as a result of a nervous shock, a spider ate its cocoon.
By the way, some spider breeders practice... taking on maternal functions and, after the female lays her clutch and weaves a web around it, 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 the humidity and temperature . I would like to immediately warn you that such an “incubator” is a very difficult task, therefore, we do not undertake to guarantee you that you will cope with maternal responsibilities better than the spider herself.
There are also cases when a female spider laid several cocoons after mating at intervals of several weeks.
As for the number of eggs in such clutches, it is 30-60 eggs, but the female spider Lasiodora parahubana can lay 2500 eggs at a time!
The incubation period of eggs also depends on the type of pack itself, but on average ranges from several weeks to 4 months. Moreover, the eggs of arboreal spider species “mature” faster than those of terrestrial spider species.
The appearance of small spiders
Cocoon with spiders
When small spiders are born, their size is 3-5 millimeters, and their leg span is 1.5 centimeters. Newborn spiders of arboreal species are larger than terrestrial ones, and their number is smaller. They are distinguished by great mobility and timidity. The slightest danger, rustle, or movement serves as a signal for them to burrow deeper into the substrate of the terrarium.
The process of the birth of spiders is very interesting. In embryos, on the eve of this event, egg teeth are formed at the base 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 dismembered, their integuments are thin, and they feed on the yolk sac that remains in the intestines. After the first molt, claws appear on the spider's legs inside the egg and chelicerae develop. It's time for him to be born. He experiences the next moult post-embryonic, and now he is an active baby, capable of feeding on his own. By the way, after its birth, it is better to remove it from the mother’s terrarium, since now the spider will perceive her little spiderlings not as her children, but as food. What can you do, such laws of Nature...
