Yo, this bug has a face like a demon queen

If you have seen "Maleficent", you will definitely be impressed by the classic image of the heroine, the Fairy Godmother. She has horns on her head and a pair of big wings. Her cool appearance and powerful magic power are shocking.

Did you know that there is also a "fairy godmother" with long horns in the animal kingdom, known as the "demon queen" of the animal kingdom? It is the arched thorn spider!

The "celebrity face" of the arched thorn spider

The arch-thorn spider belongs to the genus Araneae of the family Theridiidae. It was first discovered by Johann Christian Fabricius in 1973. It is mainly distributed in South Asia and Southeast Asia, and is also distributed in Yunnan, my country.

It is one of the most peculiar spiders in the tropical rainforest. They like to weave a round web in an open area of ​​the rainforest with less interference, and quietly wait for prey to come to them.

When it comes to the "Queen of Demons", you might think that this spider must be huge in size and incredibly powerful.

But in fact, the body size of the arch-thorn spider is very small. The adult female spider is only 7-9mm long, and the adult male is even smaller than the female, only 1/10 of the size of the female.

Image source: Wikipedia

The arch-thorn spider can be said to be the spider with the most "star face" among web-weaving spiders. Its unique appearance will make you unforgettable!

The arched long-thorn spider has a pair of super domineering "horns", which is also its unique feature. Its carapace is black, with a yellow-brown horizontal stripe in front of the middle eye area, and the back of its abdomen is trapezoidal.

The body color of the arched thorn spider varies. In addition to the low-key gray-black, there are also many colors such as yellow-brown, dark red, and white. Most species of the theridiidae have poor eyesight, so their variable body colors are unlikely to be used for species identification or courtship. Studies have shown that the different body colors of the arched thorn spider are related to its own predation and defense.

Image source: GBIF

As the saying goes, the more beautiful a creature is, the more dangerous it is. Animals with beautiful clothes are often poisonous. And when people mention spiders, most people will be "scared to death" when talking about spiders, so is this beautiful little guy - the arched long-spined spider poisonous?

Actually, it is not. Although it has a cool and colorful appearance and looks very dangerous, it is actually non-toxic and harmless to humans, so please let down your guard against this little cutie!

“Husband-killing” reproduction

During the reproductive process, some female spiders will "kill their husbands." After mating, the female will find a suitable opportunity to eat the male spider (if the male cannot escape, he can only surrender).

This sounds cruel. Just imagine that two spiders that have no intersection meet because of mating, but the female spider does not have the love and emotion for the male spider like higher animals. After mating, the hungry female eats her "husband" as the nearest food. It seems that there is nothing unreasonable to think about it this way.

In addition, studies have found that male spiders contain specific chemicals in their bodies, and when female spiders eat male spiders, it helps increase the survival rate of their baby spiders.

Of course, no animal wants to sacrifice its life easily. In order to survive the "husband-killing" behavior of the female spider, the male spider has become smaller and smaller during the evolution process, and can then reduce its presence after the standard configuration, quickly escape, and have a chance to see the sun tomorrow.

Because male spiders are so small, it is not easy for us humans to find them in the vast forest.

Cool long horns

The arched long-spined spider has three pairs of spines, all in black. The second pair of spines is the longest, which is its domineering "horn", 5.3 times the length of its abdomen. What is the use of this cool long "horn"? Is it for decoration? Or to become a gladiator in the spider world?

The appearance of these two large spines of the arched long-thorned spider is probably due to this reason. It is said that the arched long-thorned spider's inverted spines have the function of choking the neck, which can resist the predation of birds, and seek a chance to survive in front of its natural enemies. While seeking survival, it inadvertently makes a beautiful dress for itself.

Finally, I would like to remind everyone that the arched long-thorn spider is only suitable for survival in nature. If you take it home to raise it, it will die because of refusing food, so it is better to leave these beautiful creatures to nature...

Reviewer: He Jiale, Project Officer of WWF Northeast Resident Team

END

Tadpole Musical Notation original article, please indicate the source when reprinting

Editor/Heart and Paper