The mating dance of the peacock spider (Maratus volans). Description and photo of a peacock spider Purpose of variegated color

Bright, colorful, miniature spiders live in Australia. Live in wild nature, almost never approach a person's home. The name comes from the unusual appearance males, mating behavior. Females of this species are inconspicuous - gray, brown, but somewhat larger in size.

Appearance description

The peacock spider is a miniature arthropod no larger than 5 mm in size. Males have a bright color, attractive appearance. The belly is colored orange, blue, red, Blue colour, forming a clear pattern. Along the contour, long villi resembling feathers stand out. The cephalothorax, legs are gray. The last limbs are somewhat longer than the rest. Females are always larger, inconspicuous brown-gray color. A photo of a peacock spider is located below.

There are 4 pairs of eyes on the head. They provide a wide range of perspectives. But vision is poor. The peacock spider sees only silhouettes, shadows at a distance of 30 cm from itself. Responds well to movement, smells. The organs of smell and touch are the lower parts of the limbs.

Interesting!

In an unfamiliar area, the arachnid initially feels everything with its feet, then begins to move forward.

Features of the behavior of a peacock

Of interest is a male with a bright color. Variegated colors are needed to attract females. The cavalier raises the abdomen, hind limbs, begins to move from side to side, as if performing a ritual dance. Outwardly, all this resembles the movement of a peacock, hence the name. For the rest of its life, the spider lowers its legs, folds its “tail”.

Interesting!

The chosen one, who dared to approach at the wrong moment, the female eats. The same thing happens with the "cavalier" after fertilization, if he does not have time to hide in time. This is one of the reasons why the lifespan of female peacocks is much longer.

After fertilization, it forms a cocoon and breaks off eggs. A few weeks later, a young generation of peacocks appears, which almost immediately begins an independent life. They molt several times, constantly increasing in size. On last step sexual organs are formed. The maximum lifespan of a female is 12 months.

Nutrition

The peacock spider is a predator. It does not form trapping nets, but protects its shelter. The peacock prefers not to wait for the victim, but to track it down. The main diet is insects. It even attacks those specimens that are several times larger than the hunter in size. Powerful jaws bites through the chitinous cover, holds the victim with its paws, injects poison, saliva.

The toxic substance causes muscle paralysis, saliva turns the insides into a liquid mass in a few minutes. The peacock spider sucks out food, leaving only a chitinous cover. Can live without food for about a month. For proper nutrition, it is enough to catch insects 1 time in 10 days.

Human danger

The peacock spider has venom glands, but for humans, this dose is too low to cause significant harm. The spider rarely attacks, it can bite, only defending itself, protecting its own life. Redness, burning, swelling appear on the spot. The condition returns to normal in a few days.

Because of unusual look Peacock spiders are often kept as pets. They live in artificially created conditions for no more than a year, they breed. Feed insects once a week.

Interesting!

Peacock spiders are chosen for treatment related to arachnids. Patients are advised to observe arthropods, touch them, pick them up. This type of horses is the most convenient option. The spider is small, beautiful in appearance, does not cause feelings of disgust, fear.

The family of jumping spiders is teeming with bright and colorful representatives. And Spider Maratus volans is by no means an exception. And although the representatives of this species are quite small, but the male spider, iridescent bright colors red, green and blue flowers, easy to notice.

The spider's cephalothorax and legs are usually colored dark brown, and sometimes black, interspersed with red stripes, and the greenish belly is decorated with stripes of red and blue. As for the female spiders, their color is much poorer.

The peacock spider has excellent vision, which allows it to detect prey at a distance of 20 centimeters. Adults are tiny (4 to 5 millimeters) and are found primarily in Queensland and New South Wales. Males of this species have rounded growths on the abdomen in the form of shields, closely adjacent to the spider's body when the spider is inactive.

By the way, the bright, shiny color of the spider is not only for aesthetics, because the marvelous outfit of the male primarily serves to attract females. To do this, the spider stands upright and, opening rounded wings like a peacock's tail, demonstrates its superiority.

To enhance the effect, the male also raises the third pair of legs, decorated with black bristles with white tips, and begins his courtship dance, trying with all his might to attract the attention of the female. After mating, the spider goes in search of another partner, for whom he will again dance his marvelous dance.

In general, the courtship of the Peacock Spider can be compared to the dance of the European spider Saitis barbipes. Moreover, the official name of this species has changed several times. So, at first the Peacock Spider was called Attus volans, then it was changed to Saitis volans, and later to Maratus volans.

Initially, the name of this species, as well as for many other representatives of the order of spiders living in Australia, was given by arachnologists from Europe almost a century ago.

However, in the process of a more detailed study of Australian spiders, cardinal differences were found between them and their European counterparts, and the species gradually received new names.

By the way, although Maratus volans spiders are usually identified with jumping spiders, the Peacock Spider has not yet been seen to use its shields to increase the jump, because they are only intended for courtship in mating season.

If spiders held championships in mating dances, their annual winner would be a peacock spider that lives in Australia.

“Why do you girls love beautiful ones?”

Nature did not stint on paints for this 5 mm don Juan, splashing the whole palette on his belly - from bright yellow to purple hues.

The abdomen shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow performs the function of a peacock's tail: at the right moment, the spider transfers it from a horizontal plane to a vertical one and proceeds to seduce the female.

The dance is very similar to a shamanic ritual - the spider quickly glides on six legs from side to side, while trembling with a rounded abdomen and raising two central legs up.

All parts of his tiny body are in constant motion, obeying an unknown rhythm.

A spectacular appearance, coupled with a hypnotic dance, helps the peacock achieve the location of the spider, which, however, always reserves the right to devour the rejected applicant.

The peacock spider, in turn, never remains faithful to his partner and mates with all the "ladies" who show interest in his mating dances.

By the way, spider females are painted much more modestly, and bright males show their abdomens not only during the mating season, but also in order to scare away their enemies.

You can find out by reading the relevant article on our website.

Maratus volans

Volans is translated from Latin as “winged”, but this tiny spider cannot fly: the researchers mistakenly took its lightning-fast movements with the help of jumps for flight.

The peacock spider belongs to the family of jumping spiders, and, like all its relatives, it goes hunting during the day.

He has sharp eyesight and a focused look: he notices the victim 20 cm away from him. Four pairs of eyes help him detect prey (small insects), providing an almost 180-degree view.

Furry paws not only give these spiders a special charm, but also allow them to easily overcome slippery sheer surfaces.

Jumpers in captivity

There is no reliable information about breeding a peacock spider at home, although spiders of the jumping family are kept in captivity.

They are fed crickets and cockroaches, springtails and psyllids. One bag takes Plastic container for 300 mg. The soil is not needed, constantly moist cotton wool and a paper corner are required.

All jumpers, and the peacock spider is no exception, do not live very long: about a year. The conditions of detention do not affect the increase in the life of funny spiders.

Peacock spider (video)

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

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

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, the stripes on it are bright red and blue.

Females and juveniles of both sexes are dull brown-gray in color.

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, bright coloring The peacock spider serves very 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 for the peacock spider has changed several times. It was first called 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 while the word "volans" (from Latin for "winged") suggests that the peacock spider is capable of flight, in fact, it has never been seen to use its abdominal scutes to increase the distance of its jumps. He needs this adaptation only during the courtship period in order to show off in front of the females, like a real peacock.

). Local scientist Jurgen Otto (Jurgen Otto) and colleagues studied them for three years after the first meeting. Peacock spiders belong to the largest jumping family (Salticidae) with over 5,000 species. Spiders from this family are usually small or even small, they lead a wandering lifestyle. They got their name for the ability to make very long (compared to body size) jumps. Males are usually slightly smaller than females and more brightly colored. In addition, these spiders have eight eyes, the front pair of which is greatly enlarged, which creates a fairly recognizable "face". Their vision is excellent, one of the best among arthropods.

Peacock spiders are known for their mating dances. Like many other species of spiders, their females are larger than males and are not averse to having a snack with a gaping boyfriend. Therefore, the males have developed special dances that should show the female that this is not prey, but a mate, and also, apparently, kindle desire in her. Dancing is very entertaining and consists of gestures different couples paws (usually the third), shaking of the abdomen and sudden movements from side to side. Nevertheless, the male is always on the alert, because a particularly hungry female may not wait for the end of the dance and, instead of amorous adventures, she will prefer to satisfy her hunger.

Peacock spiders, found only in the southern part of Australia, justify their name with the luxurious color of the abdomen, which they lift up and open like a peacock spreads its tail. They were first found and described in 1874 ( Maratus volans), and since then about 50 species have been discovered, seven of which have recently joined these ranks. There are a dozen more new species in the process of being described. According to Jurgen Otto, it was impossible to find money for research, so everyone who participated in the search and study of these spiders did so voluntarily and at their own expense. “There are always problems with funding when you deal with organisms that are not known or interesting to anyone,” the scientist complained. - There is a great temptation to name them after some famous person to draw attention to them. For example, recently one fly was named after Beyoncé. But I am always against such things. Let these animals become known for their own beauty, rather than for joining someone else's glory.

Jürgen Otto also took wonderful photographs of these spiders and wedding dance video. It is definitely worth visiting his Flickr photo hosting page, where you can marvel at the diversity of these beautiful spiders for a long time and appreciate the elegance of their courtship. All photos in this post are taken from there.

In the photo - a male peacock spider Maratus caeruleus. Photo © Jurgen Otto.

Tigran Oganesov