Twig spider is just one of another scary-looking arachnid whose appearance is out of this world. By the look, it makes you go “why on earth does it look like that?”. It is quite interesting although not many people talk about this spider species. In case you have not seen one of these yet, it is about time you learn a few things about them. Feel free to check out some fascinating facts about twig spiders below and let us know your thoughts.
1Appearance
A twig spider is a small and thin spider that looks very similar to a twig, resting on its web. This spider species has an elongated cylindrical abdomen that resembles a small snake with legs at a glance. They have 8 legs with toothed bristles known as combs on the ends of the last pairs of legs. These combs allow the twig spider to rapidly wrap the meal with their sticky silk. The length of these 3D sticks is often about 2 centimeters, and looks exactly like a small stick. This appearance simply allows these spiders to camouflage themselves from predators like bees and wasps. The combination of their body and color allows them to remain safe in the daytime when they are not active.
2Behavior
During the day, twig spiders camouflage themselves as a small broken branch caught on spider silk. Some species can even form themselves into a rigid twig to avoid detection by lining up their legs with their abdomen. Without too much observation, we wouldn’t notice that they are actually the twig spiders in daylight. At night, a twig spider hangs on one or two of its dry silk between plants. These night hunters stay still waiting for the small prey to cross and touch its thread. A simple vibration will let the twig spider knows the location and size of the prey right away. It then descends in front of the victim, quickly catches it, and spins the silk around the meal right away.
3Feeding & Habitat
Twig spiders feed on insects, juvenile wandering spiders, and other spiders with an interesting way of hunting. The web of a twig spider consists of just one or two threads of silk that acts as a detector. When a prey hits the silk, the spider locates the meal and descends to capture the food. By wrapping the prey in silk, the twig spider can keep the food safe and warm for eating later. Twig spiders will venture from their place as the sun goes down, and they only hunt and eat at night.
When it comes to dangerous or weird-looking animals, their home is nowhere other than Australia. You can find twig spiders in bushlands and suburbs of New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria. You can also find them in some other places including Asia, Costa Rica, New Zealand Southeast Asia, and more. These spiders live on their threads that are usually located about one meter above the ground in the forests. Some people also found them in their bushes and gardens on summer nights as well. You can easily find them with a torch because they shine in the torchlight.
4Reproduction
After the courting ritual, the male deposits his sperm into a special silken sag it has woven. If successful, the female will accept the sack of sperm and carry it around with her. She carries the sack of sperm until she is ready to lay her eggs. Sometimes one female can carry multiple sacks of sperm from different males all at once. This also means she can fertilize multiple sacks of eggs she produces over time. Once the female is ready, she transfers the fertilized eggs into her own sack and attaches it to different surfaces. Those include leaves and long grasses, and even dark corners of people’s houses. After hatching, the spiderlings will go as far away from the sack as they can.
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