Spiders are fascinating creatures that inhabit nearly every ecosystem on earth. Despite their reputation as creepy crawlies, spiders play an important role in many environments by controlling insect populations and serving as an important food source for birds and other predators.
But what is it that spiders love the most? Like all animals, the behaviors and habits of spiders are driven by basic needs and instincts. As predators, food is likely one of the primary motivations for spiders. However, researchers have also identified some surprising objects of spider affection that provide key insights into how these invertebrates experience the world around them.
Food
For most spiders, food is likely the strongest motivator. Spiders are carnivorous and need a diet rich in nutrients to survive and reproduce.
Insects
Insects make up the bulk of most spider diets. Spiders have evolved a variety of strategies for catching different types of insects. Web-building spiders use silk traps to ensnare flying insects like flies, mosquitoes, moths, and beetles. Other spiders stealthily stalk their prey or leap onto them before injecting paralyzing venom with their fangs.
Studies show that some spiders can detect the faint vibrations and odor trails left behind by insects moving across a surface. This allows spiders to key in on areas where prey is abundant.
Other Arthropods
In addition to insects, spiders will eat other small arthropods that they can overpower. This includes prey like centipedes, millipedes, scorpions, and even other, smaller spiders. Larger tarantula species may also feed on small reptiles, amphibians, and mammals.
Cannibalism
When food is scarce, many spider species resort to eating members of their own kind. This cannibalistic behavior allows them to survive periods of famine. Female spiders may also kill and consume the male after mating. This provides nutrition for producing a large egg sac.
Mates
Reproduction is critically important for species survival. Not surprisingly, spiders have evolved courtship rituals and mating strategies to maximize their reproductive success.
Courtship
Male spiders engage in elaborate courtship displays to convince wary females to mate. These routines may include visual signals like leg waving and vibrations. Some male spiders offer the female a fly caught in silk as a “nuptial gift.” This demonstrates the male’s hunting skills in providing for potential offspring.
Reproductive Strategies
Spiders employ a variety of reproductive strategies to ensure their genetic legacy. In some species, males risk being cannibalized to mate with multiple partners and pass on their genes. Other spiders ensure conception by depositing a mating plug in the female’s reproductive tract after copulation. Some male spiders even pull off parts of their genitals inside the female during mating.
Safety
Staying safe from predators is also a high priority for spiders. Their survival instincts drive them to seek out shelters where they can avoid becoming prey themselves.
Web Building
Web building offers protection for many spider species. Orb webs allow spiders to sense and capture prey while remaining out of harm’s way. Cobwebs in corners and crevices provide anchoring for retreat when spiders feel threatened. Some spiders will even build decoy nests or use vibrations to mimic dangerous wasps and deter predators.
Hiding Places
When not on the hunt, spiders seek refuge in cracks, holes, under bark, within foliage, and behind manmade structures. Here they are protected from extremes of weather and hungry predators. Some spiders excavate silk-lined burrows deep underground for protection. Trapdoor spiders construct hidden dens with a clever door they can clamp shut when disturbed.
Exploration
Contrary to their creepy-crawly reputation, spiders are actually quite curious creatures. Those with good vision are interested in exploring new objects and sensations in their environment.
Investigating Objects
Studies show that jumping spiders will spend time observing and investigating unfamiliar objects introduced into their enclosure. They rely heavily on sight to identify food, mates, and threats in their surroundings. Satisfying their curiosity about new things and places supports their survival.
Enrichment
Providing sensory enrichment is important for maintaining healthy spiders in captivity. Giving spiders novel objects to climb on, hide under, and explore helps prevent boredom and stress. A diversity of textures, shelter, foliage, and toys keeps spiders happily occupied.
Comfort
Along with food and safety, spiders also enjoy comforts that satisfy their basic needs. Seeking out pleasant and nurturing environments is part of spider behavior.
Ideal Habitats
Spiders gravitate toward habitats that meet the ideal conditions for their species’ needs. Temperature, humidity, light levels, vegetation, and shelter are all factors spiders assess when choosing where to build webs and nest. Environments that offer the right balance of these elements maximize spider health and wellbeing.
Nurturing Egg Sacs
Female spiders tenderly care for their egg sacs, finding ideal incubation spots and rolling the eggs gently in their fangs. The right temperature and humidity is critical for the developing spiderlings inside. By carefully tending her brood, the mother ensures the next generation hatches successfully.
Stimulation
Research shows that spiders enjoy forms of sensory stimulation and enrichment. Novel and engaging environments likely provide intellectual and emotional rewards for these invertebrates.
Positive Associations
Studies demonstrate that jumping spiders can be conditioned to associate certain stimuli with positive outcomes through training. For example, spiders learn to perform standing leg-waves in response to colors paired with food rewards. This type of learning indicates an ability to enjoy new experiences.
Social Interaction
Some spiders, like colonial web-builders and jumping spiders, engage in complex social interaction beyond just mating. These semi-social spiders likely experience stimulation from communicating and cooperating with other members of their species. Positive social engagement enhances their quality of life.
Conclusion
While spiders clearly prioritize needs like food, safety, and reproduction, research suggests their inner lives are richer than we might assume. Exploring their environments, seeking comfort, and experiencing stimulation demonstrate spiders have some capacity for basic emotions and memory. Understanding what spiders love most provides insight into the fascinating inner world of these abundant yet mysterious creatures. Discovering new dimensions to invertebrate experience expands our appreciation for different forms of sentience and life.