This splendid little 'Mother of the Year' not only clutches a sac of up to 50 eggs in her pedipalps for the 17-24 day incubation period, but she continues to carry her bundle of spiderlings for another week or so until they disperse into her web and then beyond.
She will attach the egg sac to spinnerets and carry the sac with her until the eggs hatch. Once the babies are born they climb onto her back and stay there until they are fully developed, living off their egg yolks (from their egg). This could take weeks.
Female common house spiders (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) deposit as many as 250 eggs into a sac of silk. These sacs are often brown in color and are flask-like in shape. Females produce up to 17 of these sacs during a lifetime, resulting in more than 4,000 eggs.
Female spiders produce either one egg sac containing several to a thousand eggs or several egg sacs each with successively fewer eggs. Females of many species die after producing the last egg sac. Others provide care for the young for some period of time; these females live one or, at most, two years.
The arrival of autumn marks the official start of spider mating season, meaning the eight-legged creatures will be leaving their webs this month in search of a nice dry place to copulate. Spiders typically start their invasion of homes from September through to October each year.
Both the male and female reproductive organs are at the rear of the abdomen, but spiders don't mate by coupling these organs. Instead, the male deposits some sperm onto a small web and picks it up on the end of his pedipalps. When the female is in position, the male deposits the sperm in the female's genital opening.
After 40 days, mothers no longer provide milk, but the spiderlings continue to live at home. (For a thriving brood, the authors suggest mother spiders keep their nests clean and free of parasites.) Offspring only leave the nest at about three months, long after they are mature adults.
Mothers from several diverse and widespread spider families guard their egg sacs from predators and parasites. Some even look after the baby spiders, called spiderlings, for a time after they hatch. Egg sac guarding is an important maternal commitment, because spider eggs can be a tasty morsel for other invertebrates.
What is the lifecycle of a house spider? These spiders live for several years, although there is a markedly different life pattern between the two genders. Females live longer, for around 30 months, whilst males only live for about 18.
The most direct answer is that spiders lay eggs throughout the whole year, depending on the species, but most will lay eggs in spring or fall.
Like Charlotte in CHARLOTTE'S WEB, many spiders die in autumn after producing an egg sac. But some adults live through the winter, mate in the spring, and then die, and some survive for two or more years.
Spray them with bleach and water
This household compound is so toxic that it kills arachnids and insects in less than five minutes. Sprinkle spider eggs and spiderlings with a mixture of water and bleach. The spiderlings can move quickly, but their soft exoskeletons won't be able to withstand the mixture.
Like most animals, spiders have circadian rhythms. These internal clocks tell the spider when to rest. Just like other animals, some spiders rest at night while others rest during the day.
The best way to remove a spider egg sac is to vacuum it up. You can simply use the hose attachment, vacuum the egg sac, and promptly dispose of it outside. However, be cautioned: if you disturb an egg sac with viable eggs, you may end up releasing hundreds of small spiders into your home.
In a grisly practice known as sexual cannibalism, females of many spider species devour their mates after procreation, either for sustenance or to keep their reproductive options open. Female spiders are usually much larger than their male counterparts and thus have a strong physical advantage.
While not usually considered paragons of tender, familial love, some spiders do have a touchy-feely side. Scientists have discovered two arachnids that caress their young and snuggle together. While not usually considered paragons of tender, familial love, some spiders do have a touchy-feely side.
Spider babies may be more like our infants than we thought. Mother spiders can produce nutritious milk-like fluids to feed their offspring. Juvenile spiders eat all kinds of food: in some spider species they feed on small insects, and in others they catch pollen.
Common house spider lifespan: Generally about one year.
Some spider species lay a special supply of eggs, called trophic eggs, for the spiderlings to eat. A species of crab spider in Australia, Diaea ergandros, provides her offspring with captured prey, and studies indicate that, apparently uniquely among spiders, she recognizes her own children.
Although adult male spiders are like vertebrates in having a pair of abdominal testes, their genital apparatus only vaguely resembles that of a vertebrate.
Because of where they're located, they're “likely to able to directly perceive sensory input during sperm transfer,” the scientists write. That doesn't necessarily mean that the spiders are having sex for fun. Actually, if they feel anything at all, it could be as a way to up their game.
After mating, the males of some species smear a secretion over the epigynum, called an epigynal plug, that prevents the female from mating a second time. Male spiders usually die soon after, or even during, the mating process.
That is quite the sight, but picture this — millions of tiny spiders raining from the sky. While it can sound like something out of a horror movie, in Australia the transition from late summer to fall can trigger what is known to the locals as spider season.
Poisonous spiders like the Sydney funnel-web come out in spring when the weather starts to warm and while the soil is still damp from winter rains. November would be a good time to see them.