Spider Life Cycle
Spiders use powerful chemicals while mating. The male determines whether the female is ready for mating by the chemicals she is releasing. The mating ritual differs from species to species. Some female spiders can be very aggressive and might even try to kill the male. Some males even use dancing movements to attract the female spider.
The male leaves the sperm on the female spider’s web which is then transferred to the female. After the eggs have developed, the female spider might move to a safer location for the hatching of the eggs (which are within the egg sac). Some female spiders might even die after the eggs have formed. Spiders lay around 3000 eggs in one egg sac. The reason for this is that very few of them actually survive to adulthood.
Baby spiders are tiny versions of adult spiders. They grow bigger as they feed. Some spiders breed during fall and some breed during spring. An average adult spider can live for almost 3 years. Spiders have been found to live longer in captivity.
Purpose of Spiders in the Ecosystem
These arachnids have been in this world for more than 300 million years. They are extremely crucial players in the game of ecosystem balance. They keep the insect population in check. If there were no spiders, the insect population would explode, leading to damaging most plants. A spider also serves as a food source to smaller mammals and birds. They are an extremely important prey in the desert to animals such as lizards and birds.
Interesting Facts About Spiders
- Contrary to popular belief, very rare cases have been observed where the female black widow has eaten up her partner.
- They are technically not insects. They are arachnids.
- There are about 30,000 species currently known to mankind.
- A spider can actually provide effective pest control by eating up all the insects in the vicinity.
- The silk of a spider’s web is five times stronger than a thread of steel of the same thickness.
- Due to the presence of copper, the blood of spiders is blue.
- They cannot survive in water.