Despite their impressive size and extremely menacing appearance, these spiders actually have an extremely gentle nature.
Zero spiders (Trichonephila clavata) or orb-weaving spiders live in Asia. But they were spotted in Georgia in 2014 and spread from there to Alabama, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee, writes IFLScience.
Researchers believe they were brought to the United States in a shipping container or along with potted plants and then successfully spread across the country. Their ability to thrive and spread in this new habitat caught the attention of scientists at the University of Georgia, who set out to study the nature of these spiders.
in 24News Breaker. The technology emerged telegraph channel. Subscribe so you don’t miss the latest and exciting news from the world of science!
According to Andy Davis, the head of the study, the enormous size of these spiders, with a leg span of almost 10 centimeters, looks very frightening, and because of this, the researchers believed they could affect other species. What’s more, scientists believed they did very well in the wild, as they were extremely aggressive and outperformed all native spiders.
During the study, the scientists selected 16 wild female zeroro spiders. Note that all spiders have thanatosis, a common stress response in which they freeze for a while when threatened. During the experiments, the researchers decided to test this response of the spiders. To do this, they used gentle streams of air and carefully blew on each individual. The researchers then repeated the experiment on more than 30 wild garden spiders, striped garden spiders and marble beetles.
In addition, the researchers examined previously published data on the stress responses of nearly 400 individual spiders, including 5 additional species. What they found surprised them.
As a rule, thanatosis is a short-term reaction, and after 1.5 minutes the spiders return to their normal state and begin to move. But scientists discovered that zeroro spiders remained completely motionless for more than an hour after being startled by a stream of air. Note that the only spider known to science to have such a long reaction time is the golden silk spider and also belongs to the genus Trichonephila.
According to Amitesh Anerao, co-author of the study, “invasive” species are often perceived as synonymous with “aggressive”, but in reality this is not entirely true. Now researchers are pointing out that zero spiders are actually less aggressive invaders and gentler giants than previously thought.
Researchers now believe that the success of this species lies in its choice of location, as they chose a dense urban environment that other spiders did not seek. Davis also notes that the rapid spread of Zero is likely due to their incredible reproductive potential.
Previously Focus He wrote that the spiders were so hungry that they began to lose their sight.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.