Do you know about the spiders of Australia that exhibit so vibrant colors that they are called peacock spiders? Although the females are not that attractive, the jumping males are described as a very colorful species.
The body of the males is dotted with unique colors like blue, red, violet, green and yellow, similar to the colors found on a peacock's feathers.
Having eight eyes, these spiders can well recognize colors with their sharp vision. To woo the females for mating, the males are known to display continuous vibrations for over 50 minutes by touching their abdomen and legs to the ground vigorously.
The females lay more than 100 eggs in the breeding months that range over the spring season of Australia from August to December.
As these small spiders are widely found across different habitats, they are Not Evaluated by the IUCN. Although these small spiders will not make good pets for home, they can be introduced as an insecticide to kill other bugs at home which fall under the diet of these spiders.
Want to know more intriguing facts about the peacock spiders? Read on to know more about their life. Check out exciting facts that you will be surprised to know about the red paper wasp and common wasp here.
Peacock Spider Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a peacock spider?
Peacock spiders can be described as a species of spiders. The males can display a vibrant and colorful body full of different shades of colors, hence the name peacock.
What class of animal does a peacock spider belong to?
The peacock spider (Maratus volans) belongs to the class of Arachnida. Belonging to the order, family, and genus Araneae, Salticidae, and Maratus respectively, there are over 80 species of Maratus found in the world.
How many peacock spiders are there in the world?
There is no reliable data about the exact number of peacock spiders present in the world.
Where does a peacock spider live?
The peacock spider belonging to the Maratus genus is a spider species native mainly to Australia. While some populations of other Maratus subspecies are found in parts of China as well.
What is a peacock spider's habitat?
The peacock spider (Maratus volans) lives in a variety of habitats that range from semi-arid, temperate, savannas, deserts, sand dunes, leaf litter, woodland, scrubland areas. While some are extremely mobile and wander around different habitats, others are territorial by nature.
Who does peacock spider live with?
Peacock spiders (Maratus volans) are known to live by themselves. Only during the mating months do the males display vibrations through their dance to attract the females.
How long does a peacock spider live?
There is no sufficient information about the peacock spider's lifespan.
How do they reproduce?
The peacock spider's mating season occurs between August to December. The male becomes very active and frantically looks for a female.
On spotting a female, the male begins its dance by flapping its abdomen and hind legs vigorously until the female notices and decides to mate with. After mating, the Maratus species of peacock spider females lay up to 100 eggs in the month of December.
The spiderlings hatch out of it that are looked after by the mother for up to two weeks. While the male matures within a year from its birth, the female takes longer to mature.
What is their conservation status?
Peacock spiders (Maratus volans) are Not Listed by the IUCN. These colorful and new species of peacock spiders are found in plenty of numbers across a range of natural habitats. Hence, there is no threat to these spiders at present.
Peacock Spider Fun Facts
What does a peacock spider look like?
We've been unable to source an image of a peacock spider and have used an image of a green and red spider instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of a peacock spider, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at hello@kidadl.com.
The peacock spiders of the Maratus genus are a small spider species typically found in Australia. While the female is brown in color, the male peacock spiders display vibrant colors like red, blue, yellow, and purple.
The males also have black and white hind legs and their vibrant body color patterns can be attributed to the presence of microscopic scales and colored hairs. These Maratus have eight eyes with two central eyes located on top of their head.
How cute are they?
For people who dislike spiders, the Maratus peacock spiders of Australia can be described as creepy insects. But the male peacock spiders look extremely beautiful and adorable because of their peacock-like coloration. The males also look extremely cute when they showcase their dance to the female before mating.
How do they communicate?
The male Maratus communicate with the female for wooing them to mate. The males using their abdomen and hind legs vibrate on the ground that can be felt by the female through her abdomen and legs. The female releases silk draglines and if a male discovers those lines he starts displaying the vibrations to initiate courtship.
How big is a peacock spider?
The peacock spiders (Maratus genus) are very tiny spiders having an average length of 0.2 in (4-5 mm). These spiders are 10 times bigger than a red ant and 10 times smaller than a tarantula.
How fast can a peacock spider move?
The exact moving speed of these Maratus spider species is not known. But because of their small size, using their legs they can jump up to 40 times higher than the ground to escape from predators or to gather food.
How much does a peacock spider weigh?
Since these spiders of the Maratus genus are extremely small in size, ranging up to 3 in (76.2 cm) length, their weight is negligible and is not ascertained.
What are the male and female names of the species?
The male and female peacock spiders are not described by sex-specific names.
What would you call a baby peacock spider?
A baby Maratus peacock spider is called a spiderling.
What do they eat?
Maratus spiders can be described as carnivorous species. They search for their prey by jumping and pouncing on them with their entire body. The menu or the peacock spider diet includes crickets, bugs, ants, smaller spiders.
Are they poisonous?
Peacock spiders are described as a venomous spider species. But they are not dangerous to humans as their legs and flaps are too small to penetrate or irritate the human skin.
Would they make a good pet?
The peacock jumping spider is not known to be kept as a pet. They are extremely small in size and can't be found easily at home. Also, it is best to keep them outside the home letting them survive in the wild.
Did you know...
A female peacock spider is known for hunting the males if it dislikes the dance displayed by the males.
The males are so aggressive for mating, that they sometimes search for pregnant or aloof females to mate with.
If a female is disinterested in mating, then she shows her abdomen to the male to signify her disinterest.
Jurgen, a German entomologist and photographer, is a spider fanatic. He published videos, pictures, and journals of these spiders. Owing to his remarkable contributions to these Maratus spiders, Jurgen is also called the peacock spider man.
Inspired by Jurgen's work, David Hill, a publisher of the jumping spiders decided to study these Maratus. Hill along with Otto, first described a peacock spider and published it in their online journal.
Can a peacock spider kill you?
The peacock spider's venom is not dangerous enough to kill a human being. Due to their extremely small size, their tiny jaws are not capable of injecting venom penetrating the human skin. If stung for a long time, it can only cause temporary minor skin irritation in humans.
How do their webs work?
It has been discovered that the jumping spiders of Australia belonging to the Maratus genus do not build webs, unlike other spider species. Being highly nomadic and mobile, they prefer jumping directly onto the prey's body.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other arthropods from our flies facts and cat-faced spider facts pages.
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