Whip Spider: An enemy of sorts. A spider in the form of an Alien larva skillfully hunts its “bros” (6 photos)

Fear has big eyes because we are afraid of what we cannot see. Every silhouette in a dark gateway a priori wants to rob us. Any incomprehensible rustle in the apartment is a reason to check the locks. Any stick could turn out to be someone alive... Especially if you're in Australia. Meet the whip spider, an eight-legged, eight-eyed twig.





Let us reassure you right away: we, people, cannot be afraid of this thing. The size of the whipworms did not come out: their maximum is 2 centimeters. Outwardly, they really resemble a bunch of blades of grass tangled around a twig. Only the blades of grass are the legs of the spider, and the twig is the long abdomen. The eight-legged sticks even had to change the layout of their internal organs so that everything would fit in and still work properly.



Alien larva. Great costume for last Halloween!

It seems that such small and fragile creatures are simply unable to catch prey. But appearances are deceptive: in the body of a sophisticated sissy lies the soul of a ferocious cannibal predator who knows how to catch and devour his fellow relatives. Fortunately, they are a dime a dozen in Australia.





Twig spiders do not spin webs to catch other spiders. They stretch several signal threads and hide them between the leaves. The hunter himself sits motionless on top, waiting for prey. As soon as another spider touches one of the threads, it itself becomes prey: the inconspicuous twig instantly rushes to attack and deftly covers its food with a web before it understands what is happening. Having thoroughly swaddled the fluttering dish, the cannibal twig drags it into hiding, kills it and sucks it out like a juice box.



The appetite of stick spiders does not fade even during reproduction: instead of loving each other, the female can suck all the guts out of an unlucky ladies' man. Therefore, spider men have to approach the matter with the utmost caution, sneaking up and playing a romantic melody about love to the grave on her web. Most often, she turns out to be such - if the madam does not eat the gentleman before the process of intercourse, she will definitely do it after.



The males of whip spiders, like most spiders, are much smaller than the females.

Bloodthirsty stick insects approach the care of their offspring as responsibly as possible. To protect their little troglodytes from negative influences from outside, they keep their eggs in a large multi-layered cocoon, hanging it on a thin web. The female constantly guards her treasure and abandons it only after her little voracious copies crawl out of it.



There are a lot of spiders in Australia. But unlike his toxic brothers, our hero amazes people not with deadly poisons, but with his unusual appearance and hunting tactics. This made the whip spider one of the symbols of Australia, along with kangaroos and platypuses. So if you are passing through there, be sure to stop by and visit them.