Hey guys! I thought I might do another blog/homework today!
I figured I would talk a little bit about SPIDERS because I love them and was at one point on a path to becoming an entomologist.
I have loved spiders since I was quite young and they are truly fascinating animals. Spiders move via a mechanism similar to hydraulics. Instead of blood, spiders bodies are full of a blood like substance called hemolyph. The spider's heart acts like a hydraulic pump and pumps hemolyph to parts of it's body necessary to facilitate movement. This is the reason spiders move in quick bursts, because they need to rebuild the hydraulic pressure necessary to move.
When a spider is injured it is extremely critical because hemolyph does not clot the same way blood does. "Bleeding" injuries in spiders can be sealed with super glue or nail polish to stop the bleeding. The spider will at some point molt and the wound should be resolved. Spiders can even regenerate lost limbs with time.
Spiders have opposable fangs which are attached to chelicerae. On the underside of these chelicerae they have rudimentary teeth and actually use these teeth to chew and grind up their prey further so it can be sucked up into the spider's straw-like mouth.
The image above is of a Goldenrod spider, a fairly common spider in gardens. I found this lovely lady in my garden a few days ago. Goldenrod spiders are ambush predators who perch themselves atop plants (typically flowers) and wait to catch prey. They have excellent camouflage and can even change color to adapt to their environment.
All spiders have eight legs, and most have eight eyes. Some spiders have only six, however.
Spiders reproduce essentially via fisting (lol). The males spider carries his sperm in "pedi-palps" which are kind of similar to our arms/hands. The male inserts the tip of the palp into the female to deposit his sperm. In this, you can tell a mature male from a female in that the male will look kind of like he is wearing boxing gloves. Males are also typically smaller than females, and have significantly shorter lifespans.
I hope you guys find all this as fascinating as I do! I am such a huge nerd for spiders. Shout out to all the spider fans! @missy @rambo
