Is the peacock spider poisonous or not? The peacock spider is one of the most unusual representatives of arachnids. Mating dance and reproduction of the peacock spider

Peacock spider(lat. Maratus volans) belongs to the family of jumping spiders (lat. Salticidae). The genus Maratus was isolated in 1878 by the German entomologist Ferdinand Karsch. Today it consists of 46 species of spiders, of which 45 are found in Australia, and only one species, Maratus furfus, is found in China. Almost all of them have an original color, but the peacock spider looks the most elegant and vibrant.

The body size of the spider does not exceed 4-5 mm. Such a baby can only be noticed thanks to its multi-colored abdomen, painted in almost all the colors of the rainbow. This coloring is characteristic only of males, while nature rewarded females with a nondescript brown-gray outfit.

Spreading

The spider is most often found on the coast of New South Wales, located in the south-eastern part of Australia. Much less often it can be seen in the state of Queensland near the Brisbane River and on the island of Tasmania.

Deadly dances

First scientific description The spider was made in 1874 by the English zoologist Octavius ​​Picard-Cambridge. By mistake, he believed that the peacock's eye could fly and gave it the name volans (flying), which, due to tradition, has been preserved to this day. Males have two scutes with a colorful pattern along the edges of the abdomen. The venerable scientist mistook them for wings.

In fact, during the mating dance, the male raises his belly vertically and simply straightens his scutes in order to appear before the female in all his glory, like a peacock.

Spiders of this species have good eyesight and see everything perfectly at a distance of up to 20 cm. For greater effect, the applicant for the favor of his lady fatale performs a real belly dance, rhythmically vibrating the abdomen and the third pair of legs.

The male dances only 3 cm from the female. A bad dancer has a hard time. He will simply be eaten by a voracious and bloodthirsty female. With the help of dance, the trickster hypnotizes the spider for a while and immobilizes her.

While she is in a trance under the influence of choreographic art, the nimble lucky man manages to procreate and retreat as quickly as possible, relying entirely on the speed of his legs. It is almost impossible to escape from an awakened female.

Two weeks after the unforgettable show, she lays eggs. The newly born spiders remain next to their mother for 12-15 days, and then move on to an independent lifestyle.

Playing with death, the gambling spider will dance its exquisite dance several times in a row. Sooner or later he will lose his vigilance and become just food for another beauty.

Nutrition

The peacock spider does not pose a danger to humans, therefore it is a frequent guest in the collections of lovers of exotic animals. Its diet consists of various insects, including dead ones.

Representatives of this species often commit cannibalism, so they try to keep a respectful distance from each other.

Few people know that spiders are not nasty and disgusting, but very beautiful - we are talking about the peacock spider. What is so special about this representative of spiders and where it lives, we will consider in this article.

Description and photo

The most beautiful creation of nature of the spider family is the peacock spider (maratus volans). Scientists know about 20 species of peacock spider.

Let's look at the structural features and color scheme of the spider:

• color Variegated: from bright yellow to black-purple, only males have it. Females are not distinguished by their different colors and brightness. Due to its shape and variegated color, the abdomen is associated with the tail of a peacock, and at the time of mating games, its abdomen straightens out, like a peacock’s tail in a similar situation. Apparently, because of this, the peacock spider received its name;
• The specific pattern and bright color of the spider looks very much like the wings of a butterfly. Very often the abdomen has circular orange-red patterns on a blue background with blue, dark gray and dark green splashes;
• legs. Fluffy with brown-gray stripes on a pale gray background. The limbs of the legs are covered with white bristles at the tips. Favorite hobby spider - raise two legs symmetrically up;
• size. It is approximately ¼ of a human fingernail - up to five millimeters. Males are slightly smaller than females - up to four millimeters;
• Because of its rear part, when at rest, the spider has an elongated body shape, which is entirely covered with a fine layer of hair. However, in dynamics, when he spreads his belly, the form expands;
• eyes. They shimmer from black to green and blue, like a dragonfly. There are eight eyes in total, arranged in 3 rows. In the first row on the front of the head there are 4 large moving eyes, in the second - 2 small eyes on the middle side of the head, in the third - 2 eyes, larger than in the second, located on the sides behind the head next to the chest part of the body.

Habitat and lifestyle

The peacock spider lives in wildlife in the eastern part of Australia in several states (mainly New Wales and Queensland). Particular attention to spiders of this species appeared about a hundred years ago.

The peacock spider is very jumpy, even over long distances, thanks to its flattened abdomen and hind legs, on which it stands when preparing to jump. When jumping, it resembles a flying insect.

Thanks to its furry paws, which are not afraid of slippery and unstable surfaces, it is characterized by increased plasticity. Since he has no ears, the world learns mainly by touch with the help of hairs that grow on the legs.

Trusting air tremors, he recognizes sound sources. Also, the fluff on the paws helps to identify odors.

Video: Interesting Facts about the peacock spider The life expectancy of a spider is only a year. The baby’s body is in constant rhythmic pulsations and periodic demonstrations of its abdomen: in mating season Or to scare off enemies.

Did you know? The peacock spider weaves its web only in conditions of shade and moisture; there are many of its webs in areas of dry forests darkened by branches, and on the ground in fallen leaves.

Hunting and food

The peacock spider is a hunter; it belongs to the family of jumping spiders (Salticidae), therefore, like its entire genus, it hunts during the day. It tracks prey like a true predator. Although the spider is very small, it detects its prey at a distance of up to 20 centimeters.

Four pairs of eyes with sharp vision of almost 360-degree visibility help to see it. Their vision is one of the best among arthropods.
At first, he simply watches, waiting for the most opportune moment, after which he suddenly attacks the victim, who may be four or five times his size. Feeds different insects: crickets, ants, cockroaches, flies, aphids, psyllids.

Mating dance and reproduction of the peacock spider

To attract a female, the male rests on his two hind legs, lifts and straightens his colorful belly, moving it from a vertical to a horizontal position. After this, he raises the third pair of paws.

When the female begins to approach him, he begins to dance: move his abdomen, shake his legs and actively sway his body in a circle in different directions. At first the dance resembles an attack, although this is a mating game.

If the partner does not like the dance, then she can eat the male, but if she likes it, then she proceeds to copulate with him. After mating, the spider lays about half a dozen eggs. That's not much for spiders.

Video: mating dance of the peacock spider For two weeks, the female carefully guards her clutch, and during this entire time she lives without food, which is why there is a high risk of her death during this period. After two weeks, the little spider babies hatch.

Some people are afraid of spiders, some don’t like them, but absolutely no one remains indifferent to them.

One of the most unusual representatives of arachnids is the peacock spider. Latin name which Maratus Volans.

Peacock spider

His bright color and unusual movements resemble the peacock bird. Its main amazing feature is that it marriage ritual.

The peacock spider measures about five millimeters.

Female peacock spider

Despite such a tiny size, the male can be distinguished from the female due to its variegated iridescent color, which is dominated by red, blue and green.

Appearance

The cephalothorax or, more simply, the body and limbs of the spider are black or dark brown in color with bright red stripes.

The upper abdomen is greenish, with stripes of blue and orange flowers. On the sides of the abdomen there are rounded scutes that are pressed tightly to the body and resemble folds of skin.

The photo of the peacock spider shows that the hind pairs of legs are much larger than the front ones. Thanks to them, the peacock spider can jump high.

Appearance of the Maratus Volans spider

The entire body, head and legs of the spider are covered with light down, sticking out in different directions.

At an early young age, males and females are practically indistinguishable from each other by gender, since they have the same coloration of an unremarkable brown-gray color.

As maturity approaches, the abdomen of the male spider becomes variegated. It is this that he spreads, like a peacock’s fan, attracting females.

This spider, despite its small size, has excellent vision.

Peacock Spider Dimensions

It detects prey at a distance of up to twenty centimeters. Thanks to good eyesight males can quickly spot the female.

Therefore, as soon as the spider sees her, he immediately begins to lift his motley abdomen up, straighten his scutes on the sides and proudly demonstrate his bright coloring.

But it is not just an element of decoration, but also a way to survive. The spider stalks its prey like a predator. He rushes at her and destroys her.

Peacock spider jumping on its prey

Moreover, the victim can be several times over size peacock spider. Incredibly brave, he attacks all insects crawling nearby. Dangerous for the enemy are the spider's jaws, with which it pierces chitin and injects poison.

When hunting prey, the peacock spider can jump at lightning speed and high thanks to strong legs. It can quickly catch up with prey, and if necessary or in danger, it can run away and hide. If a flying target appears in the insect’s field of vision, it will be able to catch it too.

Life cycle and reproduction

The peacock spider is endemic to the Australian states of Queensland and New Wales, that is, it lives only in their territory.

It was explored by European arachnologists (scientists who study arachnids) more than a hundred years ago. The courtship and dancing of this insect reminded them of the behavior of the European Saitis barbipes.

Saitis barbipes spider

But with subsequent, more in-depth studies, it was found that Maratus volans is radically different from it.

In the early 90s scientist zoologist Marek Zhabka from Poland found evidence that, unlike the European spider, the Australian one cannot fly. He has no wings at all, and a semblance of flight is achieved thanks to his muscular legs.

After mating has occurred, the female spider lays up to six to seven eggs. She carefully and carefully guards her clutches throughout the entire two-week period of their maturation.

Peacock spider mating process

All this time she eats nothing at all, thereby exposing herself to mortal risk. After 14 days, small spiders appear.

The life of the insect lasts only one year. Its body is constantly in periodic display of its belly or rhythmic pulsation for the purpose of scaring off enemies or during the mating season.

Another feature of the peacock spider is that it does not weave its web, but hunts for prey like a wild predator.

Mating dance

When a male spider meets a female, he raises his abdomen, which takes on an oval shape. After this, he raises up the third pair of his legs, covered with black bristles.

Peacock Spider Dance

When the female comes very close to him, he begins to perform the mating ritual - an exotic and passionate dance.

He begins to shake his abdomen, move his legs and move dynamically from one side to the other. He quickly glides on the other six legs, while his round belly continues to tremble. His entire tiny body is in constant motion and obeys a rhythm known only to him.

This is a very bright and beautiful sight that has a bewitching effect on females. The main purpose of such an unusual ritual is to demonstrate all its beauty and splendor.

Peacock spider close up

If the female likes the dance, she will allow him to mate with her. But if the ritual does not affect the female, then she can eat the male.

A person can see the spectacle of the peacock spider mating dance only with the help of a macro lens of a camera with multiple magnification. This phenomenon is a prime example amazing natural beauty that cannot be seen and observed with the naked eye.

Danger of a Maratus volans bite for humans

Does this insect pose a danger to humans, is the peacock spider poisonous or not? The peacock spider is poisonous, like many other arachnids.

But it is not dangerous for people and animals. His jaws are so small size that they cannot even simply pierce human skin.

Conclusion

People are accustomed to the fact that spiders are extremely unpleasant and disgusting insects, and even dangerous and poisonous.

But not all of them have scary looking and pose a danger.

There are even spiders that surprise and amaze with their beauty and unusual behavior.

A clear proof of this is the dancing peacock spider.

Video: PEACOCK SPIDER - INTERESTING FACTS

You may not like spiders or suffer from arachnophobia, but this enchanting dance of the Australian peacock spider (Moratus Vilans) will not leave you indifferent.

Peacock spider (Maratus volans) despite its tiny size, the males of this species can be recognized by their bright iridescent coloring, which is dominated by red, green and blue shades.

The cephalothorax (cephalothorax) and legs of the peacock spider are usually dark brown or black with red stripes. The upper part of the abdomen is greenish in color, the stripes on it are bright red and blue.

Females and immatures of both sexes are dull brown-gray creatures.

Adult peacock spiders reach a length of no more than 4-5 mm. Representatives of Maratus volans can be found in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales.

Male peacock spiders have two rounded shields on the sides of the abdomen, which are like folds of skin and, when folded, are closely pressed to the body.

All representatives of the jumping spider family have excellent eyesight and are able to spot prey at a distance of 20 cm. Meanwhile, the bright color of the peacock spider serves quite specific purposes. Why this spider got its name becomes clear during the mating season.

Seeing the female, the male peacock spider lifts his belly vertically upwards, spreads his shields and proudly displays them like a peacock's tail. To heighten the effect, he also raises the third pair of legs with black bristles and bright white ends. Then the male performs a passionate, bewitching dance in front of the female, vibrating with his legs and belly raised up. And, in the end, this courtship dance is a success.

After mating, the male switches to other females, showing off and performing the same dance in front of them. The courtship behavior of the male Maratus volans is in many ways similar to that of the European Saitis barbipes. The official Latin name of the peacock spider has changed several times. It was first named Attus volans, then Saitis volans, and more recently it was renamed Maratus volans.

Over a hundred years ago, Australian spiders were first studied and named by European arachnologists. Later, as a result of a deeper study, it was revealed that some of the spiders of Australia are fundamentally different from their European relatives. Therefore, the names of several species have been changed.

Maratus volans has received several common names: flying spider, gliding spider, and (most preferred) peacock spider. And although the word "volans" (from Latin "winged") suggests that the peacock spider is capable of flight, in fact, it has never been observed to use its ventral scutes to increase the distance of its jumps. He needs this device exclusively during the courtship period in order to show off in front of the females, like a real peacock.

People are accustomed to the fact that spiders are vile and disgusting creatures. They see them as monsters who kill everyone in their path. However, the truth is that not all members of this family have a terrifying appearance. Moreover, there are even those who can please others with their cute coloring and funny character. AND the best proof is the peacock spider (photos of the arthropod are presented below).

General information about the species

This type of spider lives exclusively in Australia. It was first studied by the English preacher Octavius ​​Cambridge in 1874. Then the famous zoologist made a serious mistake by classifying the peacock spider as a flying insect. He even came up with the loud name Salticus Volans, where the first word is an indication of the gender, and the second is a camp word from the Latin word “to fly”.

However, in 1991, Polish zoologist Marek Zhabka thoroughly proved that the peacock spider cannot fly. Moreover, he doesn’t even have wings, and he makes his “heavenly” journeys thanks to his muscular legs. Nevertheless, over the years, the volans prefix has taken root, and they did not want to change it. Only the word salticus was turned into maratus, thereby classifying the species as a special

Incredible beauty

The peacock spider has an unusual appearance. It cannot be confused with any other species. However, before we begin to describe it, it is necessary to mention one very important detail. Males of maratus volans are very different in appearance from females. Unlike the “gray” ladies, the gentlemen are painted in colorful rainbow tones.

The main advantage of males is their abdomen. It consists of solid plates on which is engraved. Most often it consists of circles and stripes. blue color, placed on a yellow or orange background. In addition, the palette of the peacock spider can include green, red and purple shades.

Otherwise, males and females are quite similar. So, these are small creatures that rarely grow more than 5 mm in length. The two hind pairs of legs are much larger than the front ones, since they are responsible for the high jumps of the insect. In addition, the peacock spider is covered from head to toe with light hair, which, like fluff, sticks out in different directions.

Diet and method of hunting

Maratus volans is a purebred predator. Despite his tiny size, he rushes with the courage of a tiger at all insects that crawl near him. The spider's main weapon is its jaws - they are the ones that pierce the chitin and inject poison into the body of the victim.

Muscular legs also help in hunting. Thanks to them, the predator can make lightning-fast leaps. They allow you to both catch up with prey and escape in case of danger. In addition, during the course of observations, naturalists learned that the peacock spider can even catch a flying target if it happens to be in its field of vision.

Purpose of variegated colors

The fact that only males have bright colors already suggests its purpose. In reality, everything is simple - it is needed to attract the attention of females. This is a colorful outfit that should show the lady the superiority of her chosen one over others.

But bright color is not the only trump card that the peacock spider has. Mating dance- that’s what sets this handsome guy apart from the rest of the family. Being near the female, the gentleman lifts the plates up, like a peacock's tail, and begins to shake them in time with his steps. From the outside it looks like a catchy Mexican dance that continues until the lady recognizes her boyfriend.

True, it also happens that instead of mating, the male may face an inglorious end. After all, the peacock spider is prone to cannibalism and easily eats members of its own species. Therefore, for a bad dancer, even simple flirting can turn out to be a deadly gamble.