Spiders arouse emotions. Fascination and curiosity at best, disgust and fear at worst. But spiders offer much more. With over 50,000 known species, 1000 of them in Switzerland alone, their extraordinary abilities and behaviors make them one of the most diverse animals of all.
They use the purest silk to build secure dwellings, endlessly long lifelines and huge webs to catch prey. They produce highly complex toxins to paralyze prey or ward off attackers. They live in a world of vibrations, which they perceive with countless sensory hairs. Most spiders are almost blind to this. This hardly plays a role in mating, but it does in courtship behavior, where, depending on the species, perfume, drums and dances are used.
Together we experience the everyday life of some spiders. See how they build webs, catch and eat insects, search for and find mates and court them.
With Holger Frick, Curator Natural Sciences, Archaeology and Museum Baselland
They use the purest silk to build secure dwellings, endlessly long lifelines and huge webs to catch prey. They produce highly complex toxins to paralyze prey or ward off attackers. They live in a world of vibrations, which they perceive with countless sensory hairs. Most spiders are almost blind to this. This hardly plays a role in mating, but it does in courtship behavior, where, depending on the species, perfume, drums and dances are used.
Together we experience the everyday life of some spiders. See how they build webs, catch and eat insects, search for and find mates and court them.
With Holger Frick, Curator Natural Sciences, Archaeology and Museum Baselland
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