Spider Web

Spider Web

If you keep tarantulas yourself then you are no stranger to "spider web".

But maybe some of you keep other animals or maybe you are just interested in animals in general, so I though I could make this post for you :)

One of the things that always fascinated me with spiders and tarantulas are their webs, now tarantulas won´t make the same kind of webs like orb weaver spider does, but I still think it´s pretty cool how they can produce silk.

Some tarantulas will completely web up their homes, while others will only lay a thin layer of silk on the ground.

Brachypelma boehmei

On the picture above you can see my Brachypelma boehmei, this is a terrestrial species of tarantula which means that they spend most of their time on the ground.

This species is not a heavy webbing species, when I took this picture I had just given him food and he use his web to tangle up his prey and that way make it easier for him to control it.

You can also see that he has a little bald spot on his abdomen.

New World tarantulas has something that is called urticating hairs that they use as a defense system, I will go into that a bit more in another post.

But when they feel threatened they can use their back legs to flick off hairs at their "enemy".

They can also use their urticating hairs to create a safe perimeter when they are close to a molt. 

Pterinochilus murinus UMV

Now, on this picture you can see one of my Pterinochilus murinus species.

The P. murinus build amazing "webcastles" in their enclosures, the web is used to sense when prey is near.

The P. murinus often dig tunnels under the surface and when a prey lands in their net they will instantly feel the web moving and shot out from their hide.

It´s absolutely amazing to watch them when they build their nets.

There are plenty of species that build gorgeous webs and if you are thinking about getting your own tarantula and want one that webs a lot, the Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens is a great species.

The P. murinus is gorgeous but keep in mind that it´s a fast moving Old World species which means that their venom is a lot more potent than the New World species.

But we will get into that a bit more in a future post as well.

For now I just wanted to share with you my fascination with spider web :D

Take Care Guys!