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- Peacock spider
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- Peacock spider
Peacock spider (Maratus volans) refers to the species horses. Bright, colorful, miniature spiders live in Australia. They live in the wild, almost never approach a person’s house. The name was due to the unusual appearance of males, mating behavior. Females of this species are inconspicuous - gray, brown, but somewhat larger in size.
Description of appearance
Peacock spider is a miniature arthropod with a size of not more than 5 mm. Males have a bright color, attractive appearance. The abdomen is colored in orange, blue, red, blue, forming a clear pattern. Long hairs resembling feathers stand out along the contour. Cephalothorax, paws gray. The last limbs are slightly longer than the rest. Females are always larger, inconspicuous brown-gray. A photo of a peacock spider is located below.
There are 4 pairs of eyes on the head. Provide a broad outlook on all sides. But vision is weak. A peacock spider sees only silhouettes, shadows at a distance of 30 cm from itself. It responds well to movement, smells. The organs of smell, touch are the lower parts of the limbs.
Interesting!
In an unfamiliar area, the arachnid initially feels everything with its feet, then begins to move forward.
Features of peacock behavior
Of interest is a male with a bright color. Motley coloring is needed to attract females. The cavalier lifts the abdomen, hind limbs, begins to move from side to side, as if performing a ritual dance. Outwardly, all this resembles the movement of a peacock, hence the name. For the rest of his life, the spider lowers its legs, folds the “tail”.
Interesting!
The chosen one, who dared to approach at the wrong time, the female eats. The same thing happens with the "gentleman" after fertilization, if he does not have time to hide in time. This is one of the reasons why the life span of peacock females is much longer.
After fertilization, forms a cocoon, chips the eggs. A few weeks later, a young generation of peacocks appears, which almost immediately begins an independent life. Fade several times, constantly increasing in size. At the last stage, the genitals are formed. The maximum life span of a female is 12 months.
Nutrition
The peacock spider is a predator. It does not form fishing networks, but protects spider web your refuge. The peacock prefers not to wait for the victim, but to track it down. The main diet is insects. It attacks even those specimens that are several times larger than the hunter in size. It bites the chitinous cover with powerful jaws, holds the victim with its paws, introduces poison, saliva.
The toxic substance causes muscle paralysis, saliva in a few minutes turns the insides into a liquid mass. Peacock spider sucks food, leaving only chitinous cover. Able to live without food for about a month. For proper nutrition, it is enough to catch insects once every 10 days.
Danger to humans
The peacock spider has poisonous glands, but for humans, this dose is too low to cause noticeable harm. The spider attacks rarely, it can bite, only defending itself, protecting its own life. On the spot spider bite redness, burning, swelling appears. The condition normalizes after a few days.
Due to the unusual appearance of spiders, peacocks are often kept as pets.They live in artificially created conditions for no more than a year, breed. Feed insects 1 time per week.
Interesting!
Peacock spiders are chosen for treatment arachnophobiaassociated with arachnids. Patients are advised to observe arthropods, touch them, pick them up. This type of horses is the most convenient option. The spider is small, beautiful in appearance, does not cause a sense of disgust, fear.
