Spider-horse - the most rapid representative of its family

A spider-horse is considered a real intellectual among its own kind and often it is wound up as pet. Moreover, in captivity, this pretty creature can live for about three years. In addition, this view has a number of amazing features, including good vision and the ability to communicate with each other using special signals.

Characteristic

The common horse spider lives in a temperate and warm climate and is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
The description of the horse will be as follows:

• The cephalothorax is wide, decorated with a white pattern.
• The abdomen is furry, oval in shape, covered with alternating black and white stripes.
• On the head are 4 pairs of large eyes, one of which (the largest) provides this spider with binocular vision. Thanks to these two eyes, the horses are able to see perfectly and accurately determine the location of the prey. In addition, they perceive polarized light and even distinguish colors.
  

  On a note! Units have such an opportunity, and in general, the ability to distinguish colors is a rarity in the world of spiders!

• The size of the horse spider will depend on its gender. So, the body length of the male is 5-6 mm, the females will be approximately 1 mm larger.
• The extremities are well developed, while the males have strips on the front pair, and the females have no pattern. Pedipalps are small in size, but quite powerful.

Pedipalps and anterior pair of legs perform the function of a communication system. With their help, spiders communicate with each other, transmitting special signals to each other.

On a note! To date, scientists have been able to decipher about 20 of these signals!

Lifestyle

A spider-horse is able to live in a variety of conditions:

• he feels great in the woods, where any tree can become a permanent home for him
• in the mountains and on steep cliffs - in such places it hides in cracks;
• in the fields - there he has the opportunity to live in tall grass and in the branches of shrubs;
• in addition, this spider fearlessly settles even in a person’s dwelling, where you can always find a cozy sunny place.

A spider-horse prefers to be alone. He shows the greatest activity in the daytime, and spends the night in some secluded place. And for the night he settles in a special way - from the web weaves something like a cradle and sleeps in it until the morning.
A horse spider wakes up with the first rays of the sun. In bad weather, he remains in his shelter and can spend several days there, waiting for bad weather. As soon as the conditions change, the steed leaves the shelter, basks in the sun for a while and then goes hunting.

Movement mechanism

These spiders have inherent courage, and therefore they will only be fleeing in extreme cases. When running, the striped horse constantly turns around and estimates the distance to the pursuer, and since it has well-developed legs, it is often quite easy to hide from the enemy.At the same time, powerful limbs allow him not only to run fast enough, but also to jump long distances - often the jump exceeds the size of the body of a horse by 30 times.

It is interesting! Before making the jump, the spider-horse attaches the safety thread to the substrate - this technique helps him avoid an accidental fall!

Despite the fact that by jumping this spider can cover a very impressive distance, it falls extremely rarely. This animal is obliged not so much insurance, how much good vision - before jumping a spider estimates the length of the distance and at the same time always accurately determines the point at which he will land.

During any movement, whether it be calm steps on the substrate or long fast jumps, the spider-racer uses an internal hydraulic system. This method is very convenient - the limbs are bent and unbent due to a change in the pressure of the liquid with which they are filled. This mechanism fully explains the amazing ability of this creature to overcome huge distances in one second.

In addition, a spider-horse can hold its body on absolutely smooth horizontally located surfaces, for example, on glass. This ability is provided to him by small hairs and claws located on his limbs. By the way, other spiders cannot mix on similar surfaces.

Hunting and food

The spider-horse uses its silk thread for only two purposes: arranging the nest and protecting the masonry. But for hunting, he does not make a web - he simply catches up with a victim. The predator sits motionless and examines the territory with the help of its many eyes.

Noticing the slightest movement, the spider slowly turns its head, stops the gaze of the main pair of eyes on the source of movement and determines the distance to it. After, he slowly approaches the victim, stops at the side or behind and makes a rapid jump. The first pair of paws, the spider-horse captures the prey, and jaws digs into its chitinous cover and immediately injects poisonous substance and digestive juices.

The diet of a spider-horse includes:

• flies;
• small beetles;
• mosquitoes;
• ants.

On a note! It is because of the special way of getting food that these spiders got their main name - “horses”!

Breeding

In the mating season, which begins in May and lasts until September, males attract females with mating dance. This rite is the same for all species of horse spiders. This action looks as follows: the male lifts his body and several times with a certain frequency strikes him with the front pair of limbs.

If several “fans” gather near the female, then they, as a rule, do not arrange a battle. Spiders show each other their pedipalps, and the one with the largest remains. The winner returns to the wedding dance and describes intricate circles around his chosen one.

The female attracted in this way allows herself to be fertilized, after which she immediately hides in the shelter and is immediately taken to weave the nest. She builds a cradle for masonry from her silk threads, and she can be placed in any secluded place: under deciduous leaves, in a crack of a tree, between stones and even in a substrate.

Having laid eggs, the female remains in the nest and awaits the birth of offspring. As soon as the spiders are selected from the silk cocoon, the female horse is immediately removed. Young growth starts hunting immediately - this instinct is laid in the representatives of this species of spiders from early childhood. Before becoming adults, young spiders molt several times, after which they repeat the breeding cycle of their species.