Suborder Predator - Birdcatcher spiders
Eukaryotic domain
animal kingdom
Subkingdom of eumetazoa
Ecdyanimal main phylum
Arthropod phylum
Subphylum Chelicera
Arachnids (Arachnida)
Araneae
Suborder Mammoth
Family Birdcatchers
Birdcatcher spiders
Theraphosidae is a family of spiders.
Tarantula is a more primitive spider with dense hairs all over its body. Also known as the Great Lando poisonous spider, Taranto poisonous spider, Tarantula poisonous spider. American bird spiders may have a pungent stinging in some places, and can use their hind legs to throw this natural itching powder on natural enemies such as mice when they are in danger, and natural enemies will produce a stinging sensation similar to that produced by workers laying fiberglass felt. This method can help the weaker bite spider protect itself from harm, and the American bird spider has a lower toxicity than the Asian bird spider.
1. Morphological characteristics
Depending on the species, spiders vary in body length from 2.5 to 10 cm and a footspan of 8 to 30 cm (the standard for measuring footspan is the length of the end of the hind leg to the end of the contralateral leg, that is, diagonal length).
The largest spider: the Amazon giant bird-eating spider (from Venezuela and Brazil, among other places), with a foot span of more than 30 cm.
The Venezuelan giant pink bird spider was discovered 187 years later than the Amazon giant bird eating spider, so some characteristics have not been fully confirmed, and it is generally believed that the Amazon giant bird eating spider is the heaviest bird spider in the world, and the Venezuelan giant pink bird spider is the largest in the world.
2. Life habits
The birdcatcher was first discovered and named by the German naturalist female scholar Maria Sibylla Merian in Suriname, South America, when it was hunting a small bird, hence the name birdcatcher. The venom of bird spiders has the effect of treating Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and other diseases. Therefore, it is in high demand. Over the years, people began to cultivate bird spiders in captivity.
The Amazon giant bird catcher spider is the largest spider, with a maximum footspan of 30 cm. Native to the Amazon rainforest, it lives in tree holes and can eat sparrow pups and whole suckling pigeons at once. They have long fangs, generally 5 mm long, to facilitate the injection of venom into prey. The birdcatcher spider is the "giant" of spiders, the size of a fist (5-15 cm), and the body width can reach more than 20 cm when abducted.
Some bird spiders are among nature's most ingenious hunters. Some bird spiders have the unique ability to spin silk and weave webs, which is to rely on the vibration of the net and the ground to sense the prey in their own attack range, so as to attack, once the birds, frogs, scorpions and other insects that the bird-eating spider likes to eat fall into the web, it must become the mouth of the bird-eating spider. Bird-eating spiders are generally nocturnal, hiding in nests near the web or between tree roots during the day, as soon as a prey touches the web, it quickly crawls over, grabs the prey, secretes venom to poison the prey for food. Because it is very fierce, humans also have to beware. The webs woven by bird-catching spiders can withstand a weight of 300 grams. In 1975, several branches of a large tree were found in Mexico, covered by a large, multi-layered cobweb, the largest of which could cover the upper three-quarters of a 18.3-meter-tall tree.
The birdcatchers of the New World can wipe off the hair on their abdomen with their feet when they encounter a siege, and once the opponent sticks it, it will be itchy and painful and dare not chase again. The eyes of the birdcatcher spider are located in a depression at the top of the cephalothorax and are small, 4 in total, arranged in two rows. Most of them are just used to perceive the light and darkness and the movement of objects. Arboreal bird spiders generally have better eyesight than ground-dwelling spiders. The bird catcher also has a pair of strong claws on the side of its mouth, like a pair of pincers, which can rotate freely. There are venom glands under the teeth, and venom can be secreted from the tip of the teeth. Birdcatchers prefer to be alone. Oviparous, generally can live for more than ten years, or even 30 years.
3. Predation
Its venom is weak, but it is more than enough against insects and small vertebrates. The Amazon bird spider lives in a narrow hole, and when the prey climbs in, the bristles on the legs of the bird spider can detect the size, size and speed of the prey through the trembling of the air flow. When it has enough information, it suddenly strikes and injects venom into its prey. Even a snake cannot escape within its sphere of influence, and the venom of the bird catcher is injected into the snake's body, which soon melts the snake.
4. Population distribution
It is distributed in tropical, subtropical mountainous and semi-mountainous areas south of the Tropic of Cancer (it is also found in areas near the Tropic of Capricorn).
5. Artificial breeding
Bird spiders can eat a variety of insects or other invertebrates, but artificial breeding is still based on insects such as cherry cockroaches, crickets, Dubya cockroaches, mealworms, barley worms, etc., but pigs, chickens, duck liver, earthworms, small fish and shrimp, grasshoppers, milk mice, etc., can be used as spider by-feed, it is best not to feed frequently, because it will burden the body of bird spiders.
Bird-catching spiders have almost become synonymous with poisonous spiders. However, the vast majority of hairy spiders on the market have low toxicity and will not kill people. Bird spiders are more aggressive and pay special attention. But as long as you don't tease on purpose, you won't be attacked by spiders. It is said to even prey on small birds in its natural environment, but in fact, its diet is almost exclusively insects. To keep this spider at home, you should have a feeding box with clean coconut soil and a small water box. Coconut clay regulates the temperature and humidity in the feeding box and also absorbs spider waste. It is best to choose a small glass fish tank for the breeding box, which arranges bonsai according to your wishes, but do not let the environment be too complex to hinder spider predation.
Bird spiders have developed extraordinary hunger tolerance, and larvae are fed once every 5~7 days, and adults can feed an insect for 7~10 days. As long as there is water, it will not starve to death if it does not eat for 100 days. And this large spider, which originally grew in tropical rainforests and other places, can tolerate the lowest limit temperature of minus 4 degrees (at this temperature, the bird spider will soon die). Properly raised, bird spiders can live up to 20 years.
As a pet, it has some advantages that cats and dogs cannot match. For example, it is very quiet and remains static for most of the day, not noisy. In addition, it does not have any odor, even excrement, and does not carry viruses and mites. It never actively attacks people, and the chance of it biting people is very low. A bite is never fatal, but depending on the species, some are like being stung by a bee, while others (such as gorgeous rainforest, orange babu, metallic blue, etc.) will cause days of severe pain and muscle cramps.
Furry pets such as bird catchers have the tenderness of teddy bears, but they also have teddy bear timidity, so it is common to be scared to refuse to eat. Moreover, spiders can't be fed yet. What to do, in fact, simple, find a breathable feeding box, according to the bird spider put an appropriate amount of bedding and feeding water basin (seedlings can not use water basin) and then rest, refusal to eat has many reasons such as frightened, too dry, etc., the best case is rest, and then wait for it to slowly recover before eating, it is best not to feed grasshoppers, milk rats and other food (you can eat some barley worms, cherry cockroaches, etc.), because it causes a strong burden on the body of the bird spider, the bird spider eats for a very long time so do not worry about it starving to death, Maintain humidity and survive for a long time even without eating.
Spiders do not eat is certainly not a good thing, but if it eats wildly, you have to be extra careful, for young spiders can consider using test tubes, placed in a dark place, can also receive good results. Its feed is best to use breadworms or larval cherry cockroaches, with tweezers to hold and throw five millimeters in front of the young spiders, as long as you do not hit the young spiders, you can enjoy the scene of hungry tigers pounce.
6. Amazon giant bird-eating spider
The Amazon giant bird-eating spider (scientific name: Theraphosa blondi), also known as the Goliath giant bird-eating spider, is recognized as the largest spider in the arachnidae, and is certified by Guinness as "the world's largest spider".
For spider arthropods, the size of the Amazon giant bird-eating spider can be described astronomically. The Amazon giant bird-eating spider, also known as the Goliath giant bird-eating spider, lives mainly in the rainforests of northern South America and can reach a maximum size of 30 cm, including foot length. Females can live up to 25 years and weigh up to 230 grams.
The name of the Amazon giant bird-eating spider comes from its huge size, which can easily prey on and swallow small animals such as birds and mice. However, like other spiders, the Amazon giant bird-eating spider's favorite food is some small insects, such as crickets and beetles.
Giant bird-eating spiders are a local delicacy in northeastern South America.
(1) Morphological characteristics
The Amazon giant bird-eating spider (Theraphosa blondi) is one of nature's most ingenious hunters, reaching a height of up to 12 inches, including foot length. Its body is tan with reddish-brown hairs , a large belly , a large and rounded chest , stout legs , and long tentacles (mouthparts). Females are larger than males, and both have conspicuous "spitting apparatus" at the end of their abdomen for webbing. Giant bird-eating spider webs are made to create oocysts and transport sperm, not for hunting.
The toxicity of giant bird-eating spiders is not strong for humans, about the same as that of wasps. When threatened, giant bird-eating spiders kick out stinging hairs from their abdomen, which cause severe skin inflammation.
(2) Life habits
The diet is mainly crickets, millipedes, breadworms and other insects. In addition, they can kill and eat rats, bats, lizards and medium-sized venomous snakes such as spearhead snakes.
When encountering a siege, the orange-furred bird spider can wipe off the hair on its abdomen with its feet, and once the opponent sticks, it will be itchy and painful and dare not chase again. The bird catcher has 8 eyes on its head, so it is called the "eight-eyed spider king", but it is highly myopic. The bird catcher also has a pair of strong claws on the side of its mouth, like a pair of pincers, which can rotate freely. There are venom glands under the teeth, and venom can be secreted from the tip of the teeth.
It has a unique ability to sprinkle and weave webs, weaving a very sticky web between the branches, and once birds, frogs, lizards, crickets, beetles, scorpions and other insects like to eat birds, frogs, lizards, and other insects fall into the web, they must become the mouth of bird-eating spiders. Bird-eating spiders are generally active at night, hiding in nests near the web or between tree roots during the day, as soon as a prey falls into the net, it quickly crawls over, grabs the prey, secretes venom to poison the prey for food. Because it is very fierce, humans also have to beware. The webs woven by bird-catching spiders can withstand a weight of 300 grams.
Giant bird-eating spiders are solitary animals that do not interact with their own kind except to mate.
(3) Breeding methods
The male will make a web on the ground and store sperm on it, then use the tentacles to absorb the sperm, and then he will look for the female's nest and try to lure it out. If successful, the female spider will hook the female tree's fangs with its forelimbs and send sperm into the groove in the female's abdomen. The female stores sperm until she is ready to lay eggs, and she lays about 50 to 200 eggs in an oocyst. The female guards the egg sac in the nest and carries it on her back even when she goes out to hunt, and the young hatch after 6 to 8 weeks. After hatching, the little spiders will grow in the nest under the guardianship of their mothers, and when they molt for the first time, they will leave the nest and become independent.
Females do not eat males during or after mating.
(4) Growth environment
The Amazon giant bird-eating spider is a ground-dwelling spider, and although the Amazon bird-eating spider and other large bird-catching spiders living in the Amazon rainforest are very scary in appearance, they are not too aggressive.
In 1975, several branches of a large tree were found in Mexico, covered by a large, multi-layered cobweb, the largest of which could cover the upper three-quarters of a 18.3-meter-tall tree.
(5) Distribution range
Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, Brazil and Venezuela.
(6) Natural enemies
The natural predator of the bird-eating spider is a super bumblebee as large as a sparrow. Wasps often lay their eggs into the body of bird-eating spiders. The wasp first the nervous system of the bird-eating spider with a stinging needle, anesthetizes the bird-eating spider, and then lays the eggs into the abdomen of the bird-eating spider, and after the larvae hatch, they grow by eating the flesh of the bird-eating spider.
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