The Spider Can Hear You from Her Hole

Last night as we snuggled up by the fire we turned on the telly to watch PBS. There was a man on a show who chases spiders around, and he talked with much zeal about tarantulas. The female of this hairy spider can hear the sound of the male coming to find her. She lives in a little hole and creeps out now and then to catch bugs, moths and other food. She sneaks right up on the unsuspecting victims, and drags them back down with her.

She is sensitive to the sound that the male spider makes when he approaches. The Brit on the show blew up a balloon and attached a microphone to record the scratchy sounds that the female hears right above her as her suitor makes his way toward her.

Then he found another spider, this one with eight eyes and vision as good as a microscope. This species has big eyes in the front, and another set to the side, giving it total peripheral vision. Wow, the things you can learn on PBS!