I live in Portugal and a few years ago, in the region of Alentejo, I saw a spider in a hole in the ground. The size was medium/large and the colour was dark, I think. But the most striking thing was that the spider was completely covered by her offspring: there were hundreds or thousands of little spiders crawling on the back of their mum or dad. Does anyone know why? Were they feeding on their parent or just taking a ride? What were they doing? And what species could this have been? My gratitude goes to all of you (my fancy way to say "thank you")! (And yes, I love "Charlotte's Web"!)
2007-02-15 12:03:44 · 7 answers · asked by Butterfly 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
its called a viuva negra,
they take rides..or eaven sacrifice themselves becoming a lader so others can go throw
2007-02-15 12:08:33 · answer #1 · answered by lehcimYbal 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have just found a nest, in my garden, of what appears to be 100's of little yellow and black spiders newly hatched...Never seen them before in my life.... Being a bit worried (Yellow and Black is often natures warning sign) I have done a number of searches... After trawling the net it appears it maybe be a type of Argiope (black and yellow garden spider) however that is a US spider and I am living in the UK... Further searching suggests their is a 'Wasp Spider' which is found in Contienial Europe and sometimes the South Coast of England... Which is still a mystery as I live in the Midlands(England - UK) which is miles from the any coast let only the South Coast.... Should I be charging people to come and visit my Garden to see this rare site or is there another type of spider out here? They are not harmful to humans are they I trust??? - my mum is very anxiouis!!! Damon
2016-05-24 05:02:04 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I know absolutely nothing about spiders, but loved your question for an answer because I recently had a freaky experience with a spider situation. I was sweeping my kitchen floor and happened to sweep up this big 'ol ugly looking spider so I stepped on it. When I stepped on it and squished it, about ten million (exaggerating of course, but ALOT), of tiny little spiders scattered from it. It was creepy, really, really creepy! (I live in the middle part of the USA.)
2007-02-15 16:17:04 · answer #3 · answered by Red neck 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's hard to identify a spider if you can't see it for all the babies. They had probably just hatched. Spiders don't necessarily die after they have babies...some, like tarantulas, live for several years (but they don't always mate every year.)
I'd say they probably weren't eating her (and I do think it was their mother)--I doubt babies could dispatch a huge mother spider and besides, if she'd died, they wouldn't want her, anyway. Most spiders like live prey.
Sounds cool, in a creepy way, but I don't know. I'd say it was some kind of tarantula.
2007-02-15 12:11:08 · answer #4 · answered by SlowClap 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my best guess is it was a trap door spider which are venomous and tend to live in deep burrows as well as holes, they also can have thousands of offspring look but don't touch!
2007-02-15 12:15:38 · answer #5 · answered by churchillbilly 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could have been a female wolf spider. They carry their young on their backs.
2007-02-15 12:07:17 · answer #6 · answered by Prayer Warrior 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep, she's right!! It's a female Wolf spider. Don't touch it, they're poisonous.
2007-02-15 12:09:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋