08.03.2020
Peacock spiders. Interesting facts about an unusual spider. Habitat and breeding at home
peacock spider (Maratus volans ) is the most beautiful spider in the world. The amazing feature of which is - marriage ritual.
(14 photos + HD video of the mating ritual of the peacock spider)
2) The peacock spider is about 5 millimeters in size. It's amazing how many bright colors these tiny creatures have. 
3) The male spider has a colorful belly, which he straightens like a male peacock spreads his tail like a fan. With this abdomen, the spider attracts females. 
4) Seeing the female, this little spider raises the abdomen and gives it the shape of an oval. Then he raises up a pair of his paws. When the female approaches him, he will begin to perform the mating ritual: he shakes his abdomen, paws and dynamically moves from side to side. 
5) The ritual of attracting a female turns into a real dance, very bright and beautiful. 
6) The purpose of such rituals is to demonstrate all their beauty and splendor. 
7) If the female likes the dance, she will allow you to mate with her. 
8) Unfortunately, if the male fails to hit the female, he can become her prey. 
9) The dance of the peacock spider can only be seen through the macro lens of the camera with a multiple increase - this is one of the examples of the amazing beauty of nature that surrounds us daily, but is inaccessible to the naked eye. 
10) The peacock spider has excellent eyesight, despite its small size, it can detect prey at a distance of 20 centimeters. 
11) Brilliant coloration is not just decorative - it helps the spider survive. 
Meet the peacock spider.
Peacock Spider ( Maratus volans) - perhaps the only species of spiders that has outgrowths on the body, very similar to the wings of insects. And it was for them that he got his Latin name, which translates as "flying". But, as it turned out, spiders do not need wings for flight at all ... You probably already guessed why and how he uses them? No? Then under cat..
Actually, as you can see, this spider is very, very small ..
As scientists from the Australian Arachnological Society (a society of spider lovers in a simple way) have shown, the presence of additional outgrowths in male peacock spiders is just an additional way to attract females of the same species.
In this case, these small - half-nail - spiders are no different from real peacocks, the males of which have special decorating feathers for the same purpose.
At the same time, the whole ritual of attraction and courtship turns into a real dance, beautiful and very bright.
Well, peacock :-)
It is a hunter with excellent eyesight, despite its small size, it can detect prey at a distance of 20 centimeters - quite a feat considering its size. And the shiny coloration is not just decorative - it helps the spider survive.
Such coloring is observed not only in spiders. In many species, the males are very bright, while the females are gray and unassuming. The peacock spider lives mainly in the Australian states of New Wales and Queensland. Males also have two rounded pleats on the sides of their abdomens, which they spread out during their dance. That is why they are called peacocks.
And here is the video:
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 abdomen not only in mating season but also to scare off 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)
Enough a large number of people at the mention of spiders experience fear, some of them are disgusted, and they are deeply indifferent to the great majority of the population of our planet. Few people like them, and none of us gets excited at the sight of a spider! But this is because you are not familiar with the unique inhabitant of distant Australia, appearance which is impossible not to admire!
Let's get acquainted - a peacock spider! Nature has created many bizarre creations that you can admire and get great pleasure from their contemplation. In the desert areas of Australia there is a tiny spider, which you will not immediately notice, it is so small - its dimensions do not exceed 5 mm. But when you see him, you want to watch and watch him - he is very interesting and stunningly beautiful!
This photo clearly demonstrates the small size of the peacock spider.
It changed several scientific names because it was erroneously compared with arthropods from Europe. Subsequently, significant differences were found between European relatives and the peacock spider, and, finally, this exotic representative of arachnids acquired modern name in the scientific world. Maratus volans is its official name today, which means “flying spider” in Latin.
The extraordinary beauty of a tiny spider.
The peacock spider got its name because of the extraordinary resemblance to the peacock in its bright color and habits. It belongs to the species of jumping spiders, because, despite its small size, it runs and jumps extremely nimbly, hunting for prey. This spider also has excellent vision, noticing prey 20 centimeters away from itself. For this, he has as many as eight eyes, the four largest, like shiny beads, are in front of the head.
Peacock spider in a state of calm.
It is found only in Australia, and even then not in all areas. This mainland is generally famous for many amazing animals that live only there, it is enough to recall such bright representative fauna like kangaroo and koala.
Rear tail of a peacock spider.
The appearance of the peacock spider is striking in its brightness and variety of colors! His abdomen can be green, red or blue, the rest of the body is black or dark brown. True, only adult males can boast of chic colors, and it should serve them to attract individuals of the opposite sex. Females and young spiders have a modest dark brown color, nondescript and unattractive.
A female peacock spider. main feature peacock spider
The main feature of this species is that males have rounded outgrowths adjacent to the body in the form of shields. They are tightly pressed to the stomach when the spider is in a calm state. But when he flaunts in front of the spider, he becomes almost vertical, opening these shields like a peacock's tail. The male lifts up the third pair of white-tipped legs, the tail vibrates and shimmers with almost all the colors of the rainbow - courtship begins for the “lady of the heart”. Each spider has a special pattern on its "peacock tail". You have to see it, it's hard to describe it mating dance What a colorful sight it is!
The courtship process of a male peacock spider for a female.
It was first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge, a British zoologist, in 1874. Previously, it was believed that these special drop-down shields help the spider plan when jumping, soar above the ground, which is why they gave it the name "volans"? "winged". However, having studied these representatives of the fauna in more detail, scientists came to the conclusion that they need a chic blooming “tail” during the mating season solely to attract females.
Mating peacock spider.
It is worth noting that the peacock spider is a real womanizer - after mating with a female, he immediately goes in search of another. In front of her, he will again repeat his amazing dance, seeking reciprocity. Interestingly, if courtship is not accepted, then the rejected "groom" can immediately serve as dinner for the female. Maybe that's why the peacock spider is so beautiful?
I didn’t think that spiders could be so beautiful, but we have vivid proof of this before our eyes. This is a peacock spider, which, in my opinion, deserves to be called the most beautiful and glamorous spider. Almost all the colors of the rainbow are present in its iridescent color.
The peacock spider belongs to the jumping spiders.
You can meet such handsome men in New South Wales and Queensland (Australia).
The spider itself, although beautiful, is very small, its dimensions are 4-5 mm. Well, how to notice such a crumb? It is difficult to do this, but it is possible, thanks to the bright color. The upper part of its abdomen is colored red, green and blue, and the legs and cephalothorax are black or dark brown. Males are lucky with this coloration, but females and immature individuals are unremarkable and have the usual brown-gray color.
The peacock spider has excellent vision, which allows it to see prey at a distance of 20 cm.
The spider got its "bird" name thanks to two shields along the edges of the abdomen, on which bright patterns flaunt. He spreads his shields, like a peacock spreading his tail when he wants to attract the attention of a female.
What he is just not ready for this. She can even dance. Before the start of the mating dance, he takes the most advantageous angle for himself - he raises his stomach vertically and straightens his beautiful shields. To heighten the effect, he raises the third pair of legs and begins to vibrate them and his stomach. Already after such an acrobatic number, success awaits him with the opposite sex.
Having mated with one female, the male immediately switches to others. And again he begins to dance his pas.
Peacock spider called differently. At first he was called Attus volans, then Saitis volans and now he was called Maratus volans. And the thing is that at first it was attributed to European counterparts, but they were radically different. So later they got a new one modern name.
Still, a very beautiful spider, I can’t get enough of it 🙂
