Spiders and I, for the vast majority of my existence, are not what I would consider friends. They creep me the fuck out, and I’ve never really experienced a tremendous urge to get to know them on a deeper level. The less of them I encounter, the better, and I know a lot of people would echo my sentiments on the matter.
My mom loves insects, and she has always been one of these people who rescues bugs trapped indoors and relocates them to the outside, in a very gentle manner. I’m not entirely sure what’s prompted it, but as of late, I’ve found myself actively working on improving my relationship with insects, specifically spiders, and trying not to let them give me the heebie jeebies.
I figured I would share some interesting facts about spiders because of my new attitude towards them, and the following information comes from www.si.edu.
“1. Some male spiders just want to be eaten
“Black widows are known for cannibalizing their mates, but this doesn’t actually happen all the time. The exception seems to be the red widow, where the male force feeds himself to the female by placing himself into her mandibles. If she ‘spits him out,’ so to speak, he will keep placing himself there until she eventually eats him.
“2. Spiders can see what we cannot
“Certain species of salticids (jumping spiders) can see into spectrums we humans cannot. A few have been shown to be able to see both UVA and UVB light.
“3. Some tarantulas fling hair at predators
“New-world tarantulas are capable of flinging off tiny irritating hairs, known as urticating hairs, to deter potential predators, similar to a porcupine using its quills as a defense,” the web page explains.
Check back tomorrow for more information about these curious and misunderstood creatures.
Photo by Ed van duijn on Unsplash
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