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More from ~Dark-Raptor

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:iconspiderlovers: #SpiderLovers
Spiders everywhere!

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February 17, 2010
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:icondark-raptor:
Sometimes, if you look more carefully, you can find weird things. Most of the spiders are solitary predators. If they meet another specimen of their own species, and if it is not a ready for breading female, they try to kill and eat it. But in winter, many species gather in the small groups and spend unfavourable part of the year in suitable hideouts. In this picture you can see four males of Philodromus margaritatus (Araneae: Philodromidae) found under the bark of a dead scots pine. They were almost frozen (-15 degrees C) but still alive. Of course you can't find them posing like this (sorry, couldn't resist ;) ) but the situation when one or two spiders sit on another one isn't very rare. When the temperature will increase, every spider will go his own way.

PS. No animal was hurt in the taking of this photograph.
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:icondark-raptor:
~Dark-Raptor Feb 24, 2010
:D
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:iconamisiux:
~amisiux Feb 18, 2010   Photographer
oh you :P
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:icondark-raptor:
~Dark-Raptor Feb 24, 2010
;)
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:iconadi-emus:
!Adi-Emus Feb 18, 2010   Photographer
:thumbsup:
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:iconedgarallanmckafka:
~EdgarAllanMcKafka Feb 18, 2010
Excellent work, mate. :D
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:icondark-raptor:
~Dark-Raptor Feb 18, 2010
Thank you :)
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:iconthehurricanes:
~thehurricanes Feb 17, 2010
Amazing. I've never seen that.
Why they do that? Would those cold-blooded creatures get warmer when staying close together?
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:icondark-raptor:
~Dark-Raptor Feb 17, 2010
I think they primary choose the same hideout. Decaying wood under the bark produces more heat and it is a bit warmer than outside. Spiders gather in these places to survive winter. Temperature is still too low for them to hunt, eat and digest and they are quite safe there.
As I wrote, this particular"spider pile" is artificial, but sometimes you can meet two or three specimens sittiong on each other.
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:iconthehurricanes:
~thehurricanes Feb 18, 2010
Okay. I got it. Are female spiders also there?
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:icondark-raptor:
~Dark-Raptor Feb 18, 2010
Yes, but more than 70% of observed spiders were males.
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