I don't think that it's possible for a spider to die from a fall, I imagine that it would either curl up into a ball and bounce, or shoot silk from its a*se and catch on to something. But there must be a height from which it would not be able to survive a fall (assuming there is nothing around to shoot its a*se silk onto). How would this be worked out?
2006-09-19 22:59:54 · 25 answers · asked by J C 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
i dont think spiders have skeletons like we do so when they hit the groud they have nothing to break like we have, so therefore i dont think they would die at all if dropped froma great hieght.
2006-09-19 23:02:23 · answer #1 · answered by welshwife 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It depends on the size of the spider. For example, if say a Mexican Red Kneed tarantula was dropped or fell off a kitchen or dining room table onto a tiled floor (or other hard floor) then it would more than likely split it abdomen and die. It is possible to help them to recover from such an injury by using steristrips to close the wound but it would still be likely to die after a few days.
Now if the spider was an ordinary sized house spider then such a fall was have no consequences at all. Since spider do not have a skeleton they have no bones to break. For them to grow they must shed their entire outer skin, including the fangs. When they have done this they are at their most vulnerable as it takes several hours for their new 'skin' to harden.
Gosh I really could go on for hours about spiders. But don't worry I won't. I just find them fascinating. You know sometimes you will find a cobweb in the corner of your room? Sometimes there will be what looks like a dead spider in it. Well quite a lot, if not most, of the time, this is actually a shed spider skin which it has left in the web. If you wanna know anything alse about spiders, you can e-mail me!! Sorry for waffling!
2006-09-19 23:16:47 · answer #2 · answered by Tatsbabe 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The weight of the spider and whether or not it
is dropping on a strand of silk will determine the
result. A heavy-bodied spider such as a trapdoor
spider or tarantula, which does not spin a dragline
to support it can be killed by a drop of just a few
feet, as I have seen happen. The impact splits
the exoskeleton of the soft abdomen and they die
relatively quickly. Even a spider that normally has
a dragline to hold it as it drops may be killed this
way if it is knocked down before it has a chance to
attach the line. Small spiders can actually float
away in the air on silk they spin out and are in no
danger of being injured by falling.
2006-09-21 06:51:41 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
When falling through air an object has a maximum velocity, for example a human spreading themselves out and trying to increase their wind resistance has a maximum velocity of about 120 mph. Generally, the smaller the body, the lower the maximum velocity, a spider is so small they will reach their maximum velocity at a speed that will not hurt them.
For example, in many types of spider, the young 'scatter' themselves across the countryside by letting a filament of silk catch the breeze. This acts like a parachute and soon they're airbourne, soaring in to the sky and coming down (sometimes) many miles away.
Another example is with cats (a bit off the topic, but read on...) A New York vet did a study on cats brought to his surgery that had fallen from windows. Cats reach their maximum velocity when falling from around the 8th floor, so a cat has the same chance of survival if it falls from the 9th or the 99th floor (provided it doesn't panic and curl up). Interesting, huh?
In answer to the bit about working out a spider's maximum velocity, the equations of fluid dynamics are extreamly complex and involve re-iterative equations (the viscosity of a fluid changes based on how fast the object is moving) so I can't help you there!
2006-09-20 01:45:47 · answer #4 · answered by Chris W 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
In contrast to most of those answers, I remember reading that a spider's skeleton will actually shatter on impact. This is because it's skeleton, being external rather than internal like a humans, is so fragile all it takes is for it to be dropped. The lager the spider the easier they shatter, although I've got no idea about the height one would need to drop to be killed.
2006-09-19 23:13:15 · answer #5 · answered by Lee 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
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2016-04-24 21:34:39 · answer #6 · answered by ingrid 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because of air resistance there will be a terminal velocity, after which the spider will not go any faster. I suspect, in the case of spiders, that this terminal velocity is quite low and so, no matter what height, the spider will not die.
2006-09-21 08:00:54 · answer #7 · answered by helen g 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's all down to the weight to surface area ratio. With spiders it's very low so they sail the breeze for a gentle landing and will survive anything. Not tarantulas - they definitely go splat from a short fall.
2006-09-20 05:36:24 · answer #8 · answered by Silkie1 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Apparently a tarantula can die from a very short fall as it has a brittle exoskeleton, but i have always thrown house spiders out of my third floor window believing them to be OK, so it would be nice to know they landed safely
2006-09-19 23:12:52 · answer #9 · answered by bohbag2000 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
spiders can just release a small amount of silk and that alone will act as a means of slowing without even catching on anything. In fact they are known to do just that and traveling from Continent to Continent in the jet streams... Really!
2006-09-19 23:04:05 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
When things fall they fall faster until they reach a top speed. The top speed depends on how heavy thay are and how much they are slowed by the air. A small spider would be slowed a lot and so it's top speed would be slow.
2006-09-23 07:05:00 · answer #11 · answered by Steve M 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋