The strange species in nature, more than beyond people's imagination, the combination of spiders and snakes introduced in the previous article - the spider-tailed horned viper, so that many readers are eye-opening, although the spider-tailed horned viper is not the first time to write, but there are many readers for the first time to see this mimetic master, of course, nature's mimetic master can not only be the spider-tailed horned viper, in the cruel law of nature animals will live in any direction conducive to the development of their race to work, Some animals will evolve enough weapons to resist predators and competitors, but this talent is not necessarily available to all animals, and some "less talented" animals have taken a different path to the imitation of fox false tiger power.
Can you spot camouflaged spider-tailed horned vipers?
Spider-tailed horned viper can be said to be a successful imitation master, but since the spider family has animals imitating them, then individual members of their family will certainly not give up the opportunity to imitate other animals, there is a spider in order to better prey ants and other prey, simply evolved into the appearance of ants, trying to blend into the ant colony waiting for the opportunity to start, this animal is the ant spider family, here we want to introduce the ant spider family in the strange - the big ant spider, looks like an ant, not to say, They are also the first invertebrates other than mammals to be able to raise offspring through breastfeeding.
An ant spider that looks like an ant
<h1>What is an ant spider and what is so peculiar about it? </h1>
Ant spiders are arachnids, spiders, jumping spiders, and ant spider species, and here ant spiders are not a single insect, but a spider family that resembles ants. They have a tight hanging between the head and the thorax, the ventral stalk is clearly visible, and the eye area of most members of the genus Ant Spider is almost square. It lives mostly on leaves (commonly found in eucalyptus, large-leaved boxwood, and trees) and feeds on ants and other small insects.
We know that ants are six-legged, and ant-spiders are eight-legged, so it's not easy for ant-spiders to wear with one more pair of legs? However, a closer look is easy to find that the first pair of feet of the ant spider imitates the tentacles of the ant, but it is much thicker than the antennae, this subtle gap fools the low-IQ ants or more than enough, in addition, the ant spider will jump and spit silk, the ant spider will sometimes imitate the ant to lift the first pair of steps, but there will always be a time to put it down, so the movement mode of the ant spider and the ant is also somewhat different.
An ant spider holding up the first pair of feet
Ant spiders are the largest genus in the family Dipteraceae, with more than 200 species known worldwide. They resemble ants not only in form, but also in behavior. Because ants not only have a strong upper jaw and ant acid, but also have a strong social aggression ability, many predators such as birds and predatory insects and spiders not only do not prey on but also avoid ants. In this way, ant spiders can survive by simulating ants to avoid predation and thus gain protection, a phenomenon known as shell mimicry.
When the ant spider is preying, it will quickly crawl around the ant's activity area, and once it encounters a "companion", it will come forward to say hello. In the ant spider "tentacles" meet the other party's tentacles at the moment, the real ants will be because of the recognition that this is not the real "companion", and as if electrocuted to run away, the ant spider at this time will reveal its nature, immediately go forward to catch and eat the other party, this mimetic phenomenon is in line with the category of offensive mimicry, offensive mimesis is to imitate other organisms to facilitate the approach to the object of the attack.
Ant spiders prey on prey
<h1>Imitating spiders is already very clever, so what is the situation of the large ant spiders nursing offspring? </h1>
Speaking of the big ant spider, we have to start with a paper. A research team composed of Quan Ruichang, a researcher at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Chen Zhanqi, a postdoctoral fellow, published a research paper entitled "A Long-term Mammalian Behavior of Jumping Spiders" in the journal Science, which is the first time in the world that mammals can raise offspring through breastfeeding. Although the giant ant spider is not a mammal, its feeding method is actually through breast milk, which is really incredible!
Chen Zhanqi introduced the detailed process of discovering and studying the phenomenon of large ant spiders breastfeeding and raising offspring
In 2012, when Chen Zhanqi collected specimens in the wild, he found a jumping spider called a large ant spider, a nest often lives with several spiders, the small spider will be born about 20 days after birth, will first come out of the nest to forage, through research found that the original during this period of the small spider is secreted by the mother's body a special white liquid to absorb nutrients, Chen Zhanqi under the microscope with his fingers to push the spider's abdomen, the result can be squeezed out of some white liquid under its abdomen, the ant spider of course does not exist mammary glands, The process feels like some sweat we secrete when we sweat, and the juice is the ration for the baby spider.
Baby spiders are "drinking milk"
After research, when the big ant spider hatches a small spider, the spider mother will drop this food that looks like milk directly on the ground through this special structure of her body, and then its little babies will suck these nutrients into the mouth, this way of feeding offspring in invertebrates can't believe it, this feeding behavior is more like our mammals, don't underestimate this "spider milk", its protein content is about 4 times that of milk, Fat and sugar are lower than milk.
<h1>epilogue</h1>
Whether it is the mimetic behavior of the ant spider, or the behavior of the feeding offspring of the large ant spider, it is precisely to better adapt to the environment, as the first invertebrate mammalian behavior was discovered, the fundamental reason for the purpose of the large ant spider is this long-term breeding method is conducive to reducing the chance of juvenile large ant spiders being preyed by predators, so that their defense, predation and other skills are fully developed before facing these dangers.
If I understand, or the phrase "poor parents in the world", I would rather suffer more than let the children suffer, it seems that people's understanding of nature is still too one-sided, perhaps the origin of mammals stems from this kind of mother's selfless love for children, as for the real reason, we must believe in science.
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia