A silver spider is a small but poisonous spider that lives in an aquatic environment. Most arachnids live on land, the same species is an exception. Body length from 1.2 to 1.5 cm, 8 legs, abdomen, cephalothorax, two pairs of jaws and 8 eyes - this is what a silver spider looks like. The description is very similar to other spiders, but there is something special in it - this is a huge number of hairs on the abdomen, smeared with a waterproof substance, they help the silverfish to breathe under water, because they hold air.
Most silverfish are found in Europe in fresh stagnant waters with grassy vegetation. A spider lives under water and builds a house for himself there. First, he weaves a net, which he then fills with air. Subsequently, it takes the form of a bell. A silver spider fixes its house for driftwood, plant or stone. The spider breathes not only light, but also the entire surface, so the air in the cocoon is spent sparingly.
To replenish air supplies, a spider rises to the surface of the water. By the way, he swims quite quickly, with a speed of about 2 cm / s. Only the abdomen protrudes to the surface, the rest of the body is in the water. At this moment, silverfish is completely defenseless, so it tries not to attract attention. Gathering air into the lungs and hair, he plunges into the water to his bell to dump air there. So that the hairs on the abdomen do not stick together and capture as much air as possible, the silverfish combes them from time to time and lubricates them with the oily secretion from the mouth.
Although the silver spider has 8 eyes, he sees very poorly, but he has a rather well-developed perception of concussion and movement. Like all representatives of arachnids, silverfish from its cocoon stretches signal threads to nearby plants, snags and stones, so he immediately feels that someone has touched his web. Without losing a minute, the spider immediately runs to check whether the victim is caught. Serebryanka gladly eats fish fry, insect larvae and crustaceans, in most cases it hunts at night.
A silver spider pulls its victim into a bell, then lays on its back, secreting enzymes for digesting soft tissues of prey. All that could not be digested, the spider simply throws it out of the cocoon. Since males are slightly larger than females, they may not worry that they will be eaten, and settle nearby. Mating takes place quite peacefully and necessarily in the cocoon of the female.
It is necessary to start the reconstruction of the cocoon for eggs immediately after fertilization, which, in fact, is done by silverfish. A spider usually lays 10 to 160 eggs. The female hatches eggs, and until the little spiders leave the cocoon, she does not leave it and does not eat anything. Young spiders usually settle in the same pond or weave their own cobwebs and use the wind to move to another pond.
The lifespan of silverfish is approximately 18 months. For the winter, there are almost only young spiders and a few old females. In order not to freeze, they are looking for empty shells that are braided with cobwebs, or weave a dense cocoon of vitreous mass. Even severe frosts silverfish tolerate pretty well.