Are spiders also scared of spiders?
Sunday, May 26, 2024
Make every day more interesting. Each day a surprising fact opens a world of fascinating information for you to explore. Did you know that….? 
| | Original photo by narin_nonthamand/ iStock |
| Spiders can have arachnophobia. | Arachnophobia is among the most common phobias, and not just among humans. Spiders can have it too, and with good reason: Spiders of certain species regularly eat each other (for food, after mating, and for other reasons scientists don't fully understand). A 2021 study found that fear of fellow arachnids is prevalent among common zebra jumping spiders (Salticus scenicus), who were observed leaping away from larger jumping spider species in recognition of the latter's status as potential predators. Even when placed near deceased Marpissa muscosa and Phidippus audax specimens, the spiders froze up and ran away. The same effects were found even when baby Salticus scenicus were presented with 3D models that somewhat resembled the predators. Like their adult counterparts, baby jumping spiders have extremely strong eyesight and use their keen vision to detect and avoid threats — even when those threats aren't actually moving.
When it comes to humans, acrophobia (fear of heights), aerophobia (flying), trypanophobia (needles), and social phobias such as public speaking also consistently rank among the most common fears. Approximately 19 million Americans have at least one phobia, and most emerge when a person is between the ages of 15 and 20. Exposure therapy has been shown to help reduce these fears, at least when it comes to humans — jumping spiders may not be as lucky.
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| Spiders have blue blood. |  |  |
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| Fear of snakes is called __. |  |
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 | Numbers Don't Lie |
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 | | Continent without spiders (Antarctica) | | 1 |
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| | | Percent of the population with arachnophobia | | 3–15 |
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| | Estimated number of spiders found on an average acre | | 1 million |
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| | | Losses by baseball's Cleveland Spiders in the 1899 season, the most ever | | 134 |
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 | There's a (mostly) vegetarian spider. |
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| There are more than 45,000 species of spiders, and all but one of them are carnivores. The sole known exception is Bagheera kiplingi, which prefers a plant-based diet — for the most part, at least. Found across Latin America, the jumping spider is named in honor of both The Jungle Book's black panther (Bagheera) and the book's author (Rudyard Kipling). The arachnids reside in acacia trees and dine on nutrient-rich delicacies known as Beltian bodies (tips of the leaves of certain Acacia species), which they steal from the ants who protect said trees. While these nutritious nodules make up 91% of their diet in Mexico and 60% in Costa Rica, B. kiplingi will occasionally drink nectar and, much more rarely, eat ant larvae, flies, or fellow spiders. | | |
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posted by June Lesley at 5:45 AM
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