The world is a very different place when darkness falls.
Most of us head for home … for cover.
Because as the shadows creep in, they hide things ...
Frightful things ...
What is that?
That little tower?
Look, there’s another one.
They blend in so well.
That was a California turret spider.
Its lair is like the turret of a castle, rising above the forest floor.
It’s lined the inside with pearly white silk.
And coated the outside with mud, moss or leaves
The turret leads down to the spider’s burrow, that can descend six inches underground.
The spider spends its days down there.
As the last rays of sun die out, it rises ...
to wait ... motionless ...
Until some unsuspecting creature happens by, like this pill bug.
Every step it takes creates tiny tremors, betraying its location.
Whew!
That was close.
Turret spiders actually have pretty poor vision.
Instead they rely on feel, bursting out in whichever direction the vibrations seem to
come from.
So, sometimes they miss.
They belong to group of spiders called mygalomorphs -- along with their more famous cousins: tarantulas
and trap-door spiders.
They pack oversized fangs that swing down like a pair of pickaxes.
They’ were hunting this way long before spiders started building intricate aerial
webs like this orb-weaver spider.
Instead, a female turret spider might live for 16 years and never stray from her turret.
She only ventures into the world for a split second.
Just long enough to drag her next victim down to its demise.
Check this out- a turret spiderling.
Once it’s big enough, it’ll venture out from their mom’s house and set out on its
own.
But usually not too far away.
Deep Look knows what you like... more spiders!
Do black widows really deserve their bad rap?
And why is this spider … dancing?
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