One of my more fecund spider mamas, Amanda, produced a couple of egg sacs 6 days apart, so I’m opening them up to get a look at the difference between a 6 day old egg and a 12 day old hatchling.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
My thought is that mama spider is defending the eggs that haven’t hatched since they need more protection – once they hatch her job is done, so she doesn’t care about them anymore.
#1
Not so for all spiders, especially in the family theriidae. In many species, the young stay with their mother, and she shares her preys with them for a time. And has to shake them off frequently, because they seem to be eager to eat her too.
#2 Interesting! So I wonder if her preference was because the egg sac was newer, and she can only protect one.
I leave the spiders alone in my house (unless they come near me, then they get squished, sorry), and it’s interesting to think about all this complex behaviour going on all around me. I have a greater appreciation for my horde!
Its really fun seeing these posts. I very much enjoy them.
Wish I had steady hands like that. I couldn’t do this with a robotic arm and precision controls. Also, 6:48 looks a little like a doll’s face. Then it moves into focus, starts writhing around a bit and – finally – the brain resolves it into lots of spiders. Lovely!
A bit off topic, but this is a very cool video of a zebrafish embryo growing its nervous system:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoO9OIzgBfO/