How long do small spiders live? How long do spiders live? Lifespan of different types of spiders. Tarantula spider - description, characteristics, structure

How long do they live? ordinary spiders, depends on their type; in total, experts number 42 thousand. Arthropods have populated almost all continents globe, are found everywhere. live in a person’s house as a pet, and some other representatives of a huge family settle there without permission. The lifespan of domestic spiders is longer than wild ones.

How long do common spiders live in nature?

Small, familiar spiders, according to various sources, live from 10 to 12 months in the wild. The lifespan of the female is always longer than the male. Males die a natural death quite rarely, since they are eaten by hungry females almost immediately after fertilization.

Theoretical numbers do not always coincide with real ones. In nature, small spiders have many natural enemies, from which you have to hide every day. Spiders that live in Russia often die from unfavorable weather conditions, poison, and hunger.

Interesting!

One of the brightest is. Lives in wildlife, weaves large trapping nets, feeds on insects. Can bite a person while saving own life. How many years cross spiders live depends on their gender. Males die immediately after mating, females - after forming a cocoon and laying eggs. The lifespan of males is no more than 3 months, females - 6.

How long do house spiders live?

Arthropods enter human housing through open windows, doors, and cracks in the wall. They settle in the corners of rooms, behind furniture. During the day they hide from the sun's rays, at night they weave webs and hunt. They eat houseflies, fruit flies, mosquitoes, and cockroaches.

At home, a spider can live up to 1 year, favorable conditions contribute to this climatic conditions, absence of natural enemies. However, life often ends due to lack of food, at the hand or broom of a person.

Interesting!

They often gather on the walls of the house, sitting motionless until the evening. With the onset of darkness they begin to become active. They are not dangerous for humans. How spiders live in the wild is well known - they hunt small insects, grasshoppers, even locusts. The lifespan of females is no more than 4 months; males die earlier.

The desire to take care of someone is often expressed in people taking an animal into their home. By the way, everyone’s preferences are different, and the owner’s love can extend to both the dog and more exotic creatures. What they eat, where they should live and how long spiders live in captivity is information you need to know before bringing your “furry friend” into your home.

Briefly about the class

Many people find it difficult to imagine an insect or snake in the role of pet, but still there are people who find these creatures extremely cute and attractive. Naturally, a special resident is chosen for the terrarium - larger and brighter.

You can keep a spider at home as a pet.

So, arachnids belong to a separate class. Their scientific name arachnida comes from the Greek female name Arachne. Exists ancient legend about how a girl with that name, whose family was engaged in weaving, volunteered to compete in the craft with the goddess Athena and allegedly beat her in skill. In her hearts, the resident of Olympus turned the weaver into a spider and doomed all her descendants to spin until the end of time.

This species is one of the most widespread on the planet, so it is difficult to determine exactly how many years spiders live on Earth. The remains of these creatures were found in Devonian deposits. Their habitat is so diverse that it boggles the imagination. These arthropods are found on high mountain plateaus and near glaciers; they live underground and in tree crowns, as well as in rock crevices. The size of adult individuals ranges from 8 mm to 18 cm.

An exotic spider can easily survive at home

Anatomically, spiders are very different from insects, although until the 50s of the last century they were classified in this class. Their external and internal structure has a lot of features, for example:

• presence of jaws;
• cephalothorax (instead of head, chest and abdomen);
• simple eyes (4 pairs);
• Not good good vision;
• All pairs of walking limbs have their own special functions.

Spiders feed on liquid food; digested food is removed through the anus.

Pets

These arthropods have become the subject of many myths and legends that belong to the category of mysticism and have nothing to do with reality. In fact, a number of factors contribute to the appearance of spiders in a residential building other than as pets:

• low illumination and high humidity;
• a large number of insects;
• uncleanliness of the owners;
• excessive dryness.

Before you get a spider, you should learn how to care for it.

Folk signs These animals have existed for as long as ordinary spiders have lived in human homes. Usually, people say being around arthropods brings good luck.

Selecting a view

Since the spiders living in the corner of the closet are already at home, people want to opt for a beautiful animal that has no special care requirements and is fully adapted to life in captivity. The main contenders and simply the most common types of spiders:

1. Representatives of the tarantula family, specifically Cyclosternum fasciatum and Brachypelma albopilosum. The first is a small creature, the span of whose walking limbs reaches 12 cm. The color is modest - brown with a reddish tint. The second is a very large (legs up to 18 cm) and beautiful specimen, with a surprisingly calm disposition. The main color of the body is the same as that of its brother, but the highlight of this subspecies is given by long hairs, the ends of which are white or black. The lifespan of these spiders ranges from 3-5 years (males) to 15 or more (females).
2. Antillensis tarantulas are very active and quite large individuals. The span of the limbs does not exceed 15 cm, the color is shades of brown with a pearlescent tint.
3. The most impressive specimen is represented by the species Cyaneopubescens, also from the tarantula family. The size is the same as the previous representative, but the color is a combination of red, blue and green. Extremely hardy, can live without food for several months.

Some may find it surprising that spiders that are poisonous and dangerous to humans are very popular. The owners of such individuals must have at home an antidote corresponding to the type of animal.

Spiders make not picky pets

Usually these animals are kept in a terrarium, which is selected according to the size of the future resident and his behavioral characteristics. Most members of the class are unable to live with neighbors, so most often the spider is the only owner of its home. In order to maximize the lifespan of spiders in captivity, it is necessary to maintain optimal conditions for the species.

Keeping a spider at home is not difficult

In most cases, they are the same as those that contribute to the spontaneous appearance of these arthropods in homes. Since safety is important not only for the animal itself, but also for its owner, the terrarium should be closed with a lid with ventilation holes.

The spider's home needs to be cleaned regularly. Water is a necessary element that should always be in the container where the spider lives. Various insects are ideal food for a furry pet.

It is difficult to say specifically how long spiders live at home. It all depends on the initial health of the animal and proper care for it.

Spiders are pets

Our compatriots keep a variety of exotic pets at home. Not long ago we talked about house spiders, and today we invite you to talk about house spiders. No, not those who live in the corners of careless housewives who have forgotten that it is periodically necessary to sweep away cobwebs, but about the most full-fledged pets. By the way, those who keep spiders claim that such a pet is just a godsend for a lazy owner who wants to have a “friend” and not particularly bother with the responsibilities of caring for such a friend. But, about everything - or rather about house spiders - in order...

Benefits of keeping house spiders

Are you pressed for time and don’t always have time to prepare breakfast for yourself, let alone prepare food for your pet? Are you not too fond of all sorts of difficulties associated with pet care procedures - walking, bathing, participating in exhibitions? You are not an oligarch, so you cannot afford to spend more on your animal every month than you spend on yourself? Your living space is intended exclusively for you, since square meters are they strictly calculated? Have you never had a pet before?

Well, in all these cases, if you suddenly decide to have a pet, the house spider is the best candidate for this role. Caring for it doesn’t take much time, and there doesn’t seem to be any need to take special care of the spider either. Financially, you won’t have to spend a lot of money, such a house spider won’t force you to make room, and even if you have no idea how to approach it – after reading our publication, you can consider yourself a novice spider specialist and have such a creature in your home.

We do not exclude the possibility that you may not succeed in everything right away; in the end, the spider, unfortunately, may die. But, if you find your mistakes in your approach to its maintenance and eliminate them, then rest assured that your next pet spider will live a long and long life. happy life to your delight. Moreover, you will have the opportunity to admire the process of transformation of a gray tiny spider (that’s how you bought it) into a bright and spectacular beauty, which it will become just a few months after it appears in your home. Moreover, after each molt it will become more beautiful and larger. This sight is worth learning how to care for a spider at home.

What kind of spider can you keep at home?

As you understand, ordinary braid spiders are not very suitable for keeping at home. Ah, here are the best candidates for this role. They are considered to be the most big spiders on Earth, and these include more than 1,500 species, which in turn are divided into 9 families. Live in natural conditions such spiders in the southern and warm countries. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that most of them are... poisonous. You may not die from their bite, but you will be guaranteed severe intoxication of the body. True, like most animals, tarantula spiders never attack first - therefore, this fact is a little comforting.

If you are thinking about which spider to choose as a pet, we would recommend that you pay attention to initial stage(since you are still new to this business) on small and easy to care for and maintain spiders such as Brachypelma albopilosum, Brachypelma vagans. You shouldn't have any problems with these two types. Well, if you feel like an expert in the field of spider science, then you can get rarer and expensive types spiders

How to choose a healthy spider

Terrarium for spider

A small spider, regardless of its type, is best kept in a plastic, hermetically sealed container of a suitable size for it. While your pet spider is a baby, it is better to refuse a huge terrarium and its decorative elements. The spider may simply get lost there, get scared and not be able to find water or food for itself. Yes, and you may not notice the crumbs among the stones and plants. But when your house spider grows up, it will be appropriate to choose a larger container for it. However, remember Tarantula spiders do not tolerate their neighbors and... eat them because by their nature they are cannibals. So getting a couple of spiders is not worth it. And, if you did do this, because you wanted to breed these creatures in the future, you will have to keep them in separate terrariums.

This applies to both adults and children - it’s better not to take risks.

How to set up a terrarium for a house spider

To the bottom of such a glass or plastic terrarium it is necessary to place a substrate - filter paper can play its role. And, if there is no such thing, an ordinary white toilet. But, here's to use colored paper, due to the presence of dyes in it, is strictly prohibited. Also, as a substrate you can take sphagnum, peat, ready-made substrate from coconut fibers or vermiculite. Make sure that the substrate is moderately moist and moisten it if necessary.

Humidity in the terrarium

Depending on the type of spider you have, you will need to create a comfortable humidity level for it. So, Tropical forest spiders feel good at 75-90%, while desert-shrub spiders prefer drier air, and the humidity level for them should not exceed 75%. To further humidify the air, you can place small containers of water in the terrarium for large spiders. But for small spiders it is better not to use them, so that the insects do not accidentally drown in such a pool.

Well, you can control the humidity level and regulate it with maximum accuracy if you purchase one special device like a hygrometer.

Why is it so important to provide the required level of humidity to your spider? Yes, because if the air is too dry, the spider may begin to get sick, and its molting cycles may be disrupted. And, too much humidity can also lead to the development of mold and fungal diseases.
By the way, be sure to make sure your spider drinks. It’s better to let him go without dinner (although that’s not an option) than to let him go without water.

Temperature in the terrarium

Spiders are heat-loving creatures. Therefore, make sure that they constantly remain in this temperature range 22-28 degrees above zero Celsius. A short-term decrease in temperature is allowed (but not lower than 15 degrees Celsius), however, you should still not abuse such temperature fluctuations. A decrease in temperature is especially dangerous for well-fed spiders and spiders during molting - insects may suffer from the onset of food rotting in their stomach.

If the room in which the terrarium with the spider is installed is not warm, take care of additional heating of the terrarium using a thermal cord or a thermal mat. However, constantly monitor their temperature so as not to overheat. house spider.

Terrarium lighting

Spiders, like many other insects, are nocturnal inhabitants, so they do not need additional lighting either day or night. Your indoor light is enough for you to observe your exotic pet. Under no circumstances should you direct the lamp’s direct light at the spider or place the terrarium under direct sun rays. By doing this you can destroy the creature.

Decorative elements for terrarium

When will your spider become big enough to move to large terrarium– be sure to take care of the decorative elements of its interior. Beautiful and large stones, an empty coconut shell, a fragment of a clay flower pot, bamboo stems, dry branches and even a model of a skull - all this will decorate the landscape of the terrarium and serve as a refuge for the spider. Just make sure that the decorative elements of the terrarium do not injure your pet, therefore, they should not have sharp corners or cutting ends.

You can also plant a real one in the spider's house. Botanical Garden, planting aloe and gasteria there.

Depending on what kind of tarantula you have, there are terrestrial and tree spiders who need vertical type terrarium, make sure to provide your little ones with the accessories they need.

Terrarium safety

Since spiders can climb both the walls and the lid of the terrarium, you need to ensure that the terrarium is tightly closed with a securely fitting lid so that your pet does not escape. However, make sure that the lid has perforations - small holes for air ventilation. True, their size must be such that the spider does not escape.

What to feed house spiders

Despite the fact that your house spiders are completely domesticated creatures, they are predators, and accordingly they feed on living organisms. Small spiders eat cockroaches and crickets, but large ones can eat mice and frogs. You can also try giving a piece of lean meat or squid fillet. However, the latter types of food are not very natural for the spider, therefore, from such a diet they may begin to get sick in the future. So, it’s best to eat what they eat in nature.

As for the size of the portions, they should be 1/3 of the volume of the spider itself.

How often should you feed spiders?

The frequency of feeding spiders depends on their age. So, if you have a young house spider, you need to feed it several times a week. Whereas an adult spider can be fed several times a month. By the way, there are often cases when adult spiders can go on hunger strikes - you shouldn’t be afraid of this - the spider either overate the day before, or is preparing to molt, or in your terrarium low temperature air, and he is preparing for hibernation.

What to do if a spider refuses food

What should you do if you find yourself in a situation where your pet refuses both a cricket and a mouse? In this case, first, you need to remove its “lunch” from the terrarium in order to prevent a situation where the spider becomes a victim of its lunch, and only then start to find out the reasons for this situation

Accessories for spider care

In addition to the terrarium and its filling, you need to purchase tweezers with which you will serve the spider food or remove its remains, a brush, a plastic tightly closed box that you will use when your pet spider needs to be temporarily isolated.

Is it possible to pick up house spiders?

Unless absolutely necessary, it is better to avoid such close contact, especially with a small spider. So as not to harm the insect, and not to suffer from it yourself. If you still need to get the spider out of the terrarium, carefully grab it with two (thumb and index) fingers by the cephalothorax, between the 2nd and 3rd pair of legs. However, do not lose your vigilance - the spider may escape from your hands or even bite you. In the case of the first situation - escaping, do not try to catch the spider with your hands - you will only crush it, it is better to just freeze. The lack of movement and chasing will prompt the spider to stop, and when it freezes, you cover it on top with a glass jar or plastic container. True, be as careful as possible so as not to press his paw or abdomen.

If the spider still escapes, try looking for it in tight crevices, behind and between furniture, taking into account the fact that terrestrial view the spiders will be closer to the ground, and the arboreal one will try to climb up.

In addition to the fact that a spider can bite you, it can also “poison” you. Turning his back to you, he will begin to comb the hairs with his paws. Make sure that they do not get on your body, as this will cause you to itch for several hours.

Have you ever wondered how long spiders live? A year, two, three, ten? Or maybe they are completely immortal, and die only because someone accidentally steps on them? Agree, this is a very fascinating question, so let’s try to find an equally fascinating answer to it.

Spider is different from spider

To date, scientists have discovered more than 42 thousand species of spiders. All of them are very different from each other: some grow to gigantic sizes, others, on the contrary, are so small that they are barely visible to the naked eye. No less varied and appearance spiders, which, to one degree or another, reflects the character and habits of these “terrible” creatures.

Naturally, depending on the species, how long spiders live varies. Ordinary tarantulas, for example, die of old age no earlier than after 14-17 years, while harvesters go to better world after 4-5 months. In addition, the fundamental factor influencing the lifespan of spiders is environment. Namely, the conditions in which they live.

The cruel world of wildlife

Let's start with the fact that in natural environment spiders rarely live to a ripe old age. Here their existence is threatened by predators, complex weather and lack of food. This is why it is so difficult for scientists to know how long spiders live in the wild. Especially when it comes to tiny representatives of this family, who can die even from one strong gust of wind.

And yet, they still managed to figure out some Interesting Facts. For example, it is reliably known that large spiders live much longer than small ones. The same rule applies to those arachnids that are found in arid regions - their upper threshold for aging is quite high compared to tropical inhabitants.

How long does a house spider live?

There are two types of spiders living in a person's house. The first are those who sneaked there themselves unnoticed, the second are those brought directly by people as pets. Both of them often live much longer than their brothers living in the lap of nature.

This is due to the fact that in a habitable room they do not have multiple enemies. They do not have to fear that heavy rains or droughts will destroy their home, leaving the poor fellows alone with cruel world. This is why many spiders tend to settle next to humans. And some of them even began to live exclusively in people’s homes, since they would not live even a single day outside of it.

How long do spiders live? Specific examples

In conclusion, let's talk about the life expectancy of spiders. various types. The numbers below indicate the approximate threshold of old age for these creatures, taking into account that their environment will be loyal to them:

1. The tarantula spider is a record holder among its own kind. Thus, science knows of a case where this gigantic predator lived in a terrarium for about 30 years.
2. Tarantulas can also boast of their durability. In the wild you can often find individuals that are over 15 years old. And this is far from the limit. At home, this spider can live twice as long.
3. Next up are the Goliaths. Their limit is located at the 7-9 year mark, while females can sometimes live a couple of years longer.
4. The black widow is able to maintain its activity for about 4-5 years. True, males of this species rarely live beyond 3 years, since during mating they become an excellent snack for ladies.
5. The peacock spider, despite its bright color and cheerful character, very rarely “celebrates” its first birthday. This is because death comes to him after 7-9 months.
6. The cross spider lives even less. Males of this species die immediately after mating, and females die after creating a cocoon. Thus, men live about 2-3 months, and ladies - 4-6 months.

Many people think that spiders have several species. Those representatives of the class who are found in houses and on the streets in Middle lane- not all spiders in the world. Let's look at how many spiders can be found in nature, how many legs a spider has, why poisonous spiders are dangerous, what spiders eat in nature and at home - in the article.

Description and characteristics

The body of every arachnid creature includes two main parts.

• The abdomen, on which there are special breathing holes and warts, through which individuals weave webs.
• The cephalothorax is covered with a special shell made of chitin, which has 4 pairs of jointed legs. That is, the answer to the question of how many legs a spider has is 8. The number of eyes can reach a similar value.

Large spiders can reach a body size of up to 10 cm. The smallest individuals have dimensional characteristics from 0.4 cm (this is the most little spider). The coloring features depend on the structure and structure of the scales and integuments, so some individuals may be monochromatic, and some have bright color.

Types of spiders

There are many spiders in the world; based on the work of scientists, there are about 42,000 species.

• Blue-green tarantula. This is one of the most attractive species with a red belly or blue highlights. How many legs does this type of spider have - 8. This specimen is found in Asia and Africa. A spider bite of this type is potentially dangerous. Females live 6 times longer than males, lifespan is more than 10 years. This spider's eyes are special.

  

• Flower spider. These amazing spiders can have any color - from white to lemon color. The length of the male reaches 4-5 mm, females - 1 cm. Such individuals are found in the USA and Japan.

  

• A variety of GRAMMOSTOL PULCHRA. This tarantula can reach 8-11 cm in size and is dark in color. Can live at home and is purchased by exotic lovers. A spider bite is relatively dangerous; the eyes of this spider have good vision.

  

• The name is ARGIOPUS BRONNICHA - this spider has an interesting color, the spider’s legs are striped, so it has the name “wasp”. How many legs this type of spider has is the same as other species. If you are bitten by a spider of this species, you must administer an antidote.

  

• Border Hunter - This species is widespread in Asia. Many spiders live in meadows in wetlands; spiders bite quite painfully and unsafely. The eyes of this spider allow it to see its prey from afar.

  

• Tarantula – death spider belongs to the class of wolf spiders. Found in Italy and Spain. Can be light or dark. The spider's bite is poisonous and dangerous. Considering the data about spiders of this type, it can be noted that there are several varieties of them. The paws can be very long.

  

• Orb-weaving spider - this representative is common in the tropics and subtropics. The spider's bite is dangerous; females can reach dimensions of up to 9 mm, males - smaller. It is said about spiders that they have bright colors. The person who is bitten may feel significantly unwell.

• The peacock spider can have several bright colors in color; the bite of a spider of this species is life-threatening. It is said about spiders that females are paler in color than males.

• Smiling spider. These individuals are completely harmless to humans, and the body reaches a length of 5 mm. It is said about spiders of this type that their color can be any. There are individuals of pale, orange and even blue-eyed colors.

  

• The black widow is a dangerous, deadly predator. It is said about spiders that despite their small size, they can be extremely dangerous. They are characterized by a black color and small red spots. There are many spiders in Australia.

  

• Karakurt - many spiders are found in Central Asian lands. It's deadly dangerous individuals, which can inject dangerous poison.

  

Where spiders come from in the house depends on the circumstances and conditions. They usually start in apartments where hygiene rules are violated. It remains to consider how spiders live and why spiders are needed.

Feeding features of insects

Being voracious predators, spiders typically feed on insects by suction. Many people wonder whether spiders eat cockroaches, and in some cases the answer may be yes. This applies to domestic animals. The prey - the victim of spiders - must be killed using poison. If it is a small insect, death occurs instantly if the victim has big sizes, she struggles in the nets of a predator. Certain food items that arachnids eat are small insects, and they must be suitable in size ratio. Many individuals eat cockroaches of all types, bedbugs, flies and bugs.

Lifestyle and behavior of predators

How long spiders live depends on the species and living conditions. For example, in the basement, where all conditions are created for them, they can live longer than at home. In a greenhouse (for example, in bananas) there are no such benefits for them, this provokes a reduction in life span. Except for aquatic individuals, all spiders live in arid climates. They are nocturnal predators and are inactive during the day. Together with mobile individuals, sedentary individuals can also live, which live in burrows or in the area of ​​lairs. Due to their ability to eat harmful insects, spiders are useful. But if they live in large quantities, it is important to know how to get rid of pests. After all, they can reproduce very actively and feed on other foods. The eyes of each spider allow individuals to have good vision and hunt quickly.

Why are spiders not insects? How is the life of different spiders at home and in nature? How does a spider stay on the web and hunt with it? This is discussed in the “interesting facts” section.

• Insect silk is a material of unusual strength. One thread can stop a large plane in its tracks high speed, if you treat manufacturing correctly.
• An indoor or natural non-venomous (as well as poisonous) spider may lose its legs, but after the molting process all phenomena are restored.
• Spiders can appear at home various reasons. What spiders are really afraid of is the lack of food and certain odors. They are not insects due to their structural features.
• The head of each spider is different in features and structure. It can accommodate several pairs of eyes for better vision. Individuals can wake up when it gets warmer, but before that they sleep.

Thus, not all spiders act as dangerous creatures. But if they attack a home in colonies, it is important to know how to get rid of their influence.