Long-Bodied Cellar Spider: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Creepy Crawlies · day 3 of 7

Five facts

1. Facing a jumping spider, the cellar spider whirls its body round and round on its web, for hours or even days.
2. The fast whirling blurs the jumping spider's sharp eyesight, so it can no longer pinpoint where the cellar spider is.
3. A cellar spider's legs are five to six times its body length. A female's legs reach about 50 mm.
4. Male courtship has four steps, starting with a vibrating abdomen. Tapping on the female's web alone can last up to 20 minutes.
5. To people, its bite feels like a mild sting and causes no lasting harm.

The quiz

1. What does the cellar spider do against a jumping spider?

• Whirls its body round and round (correct)
• Plays dead
• Drops from its web
• Hides in a crack

It whirls its body round and round, sometimes for hours or even days.

2. How does whirling protect it from a jumping spider?

• It sprays venom around
• It blurs the jumping spider's vision (correct)
• It makes a loud buzz
• It wraps the attacker in silk

Whirling blurs the jumping spider's sharp eyesight, so it cannot pinpoint its target.

3. How long are its legs compared with its body?

• Equal to the body length
• Twice the body length
• Five to six times the body length (correct)
• Ten times the body length

Its legs are five to six times its body length.

4. How many steps does the male's courtship dance have?

• Two
• Three
• Seven
• Four (correct)

The courtship has four steps; tapping on the web alone can last up to twenty minutes.

5. What does its bite feel like to people?

• A mild sting (correct)
• A burning wound
• A numbing freeze
• Nothing at all

The bite feels like a mild sting and causes no lasting harm.

More about the Long-Bodied Cellar Spider

Same week

All lessons

Nature documentaries