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During the warm season, the small creepy-crawlies constantly cross your path. In the meantime, they have adapted their habits to the circumstances. Just like humans, the native spiders do not like the cold season. They try to escape the winter temperatures and have developed different strategies. There are very few of them who are also active in winter. But what are the rest of the spiders doing now?
How do spiders hibernate?
Spiders are among them cold-blooded animals. In other words, the temperature of your body adapts to the prevailing outside temperatures. The colder it gets, the slower and also carriers the animals become. Without protective measures, they would inevitably freeze to death. Survival for native spiders can quickly become a problem. In cold winters, spiders usually look for retreats where they can hibernate frost-free. This can be among other things
- under tree bark
- in the ground
- under stones and wood
- in hollow plant stems
- under fallen leaves
- in the house, garage and basement
Here the spiders are protected from dehydration and extreme cold. But there are other ways a spider can brave cold temperatures. More on that later.
notice: Around 80 percent of all native spiders seek protection from the cold in the ground during the winter and at the same time find sufficient moisture there.
Overwinter indoors
When the cold season begins outside, many larger spiders are drawn indoors into the house, apartment, basement or garage. Three native species in particular like to choose these places as shelter:
- Electric Spider (Pholcidae)
- Curl-hunting spider (Zoropsis spinimana) and
- Angle Spider (Tegnaria)
large angle spider
The rather inconspicuous tremor spider is usually only noticed in the apartment when it is already there veil-like cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. Curled-hunting spiders are more at home in the Mediterranean regions, but due to climate change they are also spreading in Germany. However, they are not yet very widespread, but they also love a warm spot in the home. It can get a little more uncomfortable when the hairy angle spider, which is about 10 cm tall, appears in the house. However, there is no danger for humans, only it can cause some discomfort. The spider can safely be relocated to the basement. Here it even turns out to be useful, because there she eats all kinds of vermin like
- woodlice
- To fly
- smaller spiders
It would be no problem at all for the angle spider to use them again into the open to put. The spider can also hibernate here, sometimes even better than inside. It finds good shelters in the ground, under stones and tree bark and wood. A spider can dry out, especially in heated rooms. It always needs enough water to keep it from dying. The humidity in the rooms is usually too low.
There are also many spider species that are active in winter, such as the canopy spider (Linyphiidae). In late summer and also in the winter months, their webs are visible near the ground in meadows and over bushes. With the help of fly threads let yourself be carried away by the wind even in the cold season to move around. Unhindered, they can withdraw under tree bark or piles of leaves and, if necessary, survive for weeks without food.
tip: In the garden some piles of leaves should be left over the winter. Not only do they provide winter protection for spiders and other insects, but also for hedgehogs.
Hibernation in the cocoon
Things are different with the garden spider (Araneus). In this country, the garden spider (Araneus diadematus) is the most common. This type of spiders will never be seen in the house or apartment. They have their very own strategy to save themselves over the winter. However, adult garden spiders do not survive the winter.
In August, the males go in search of females ready to mate. Some time after mating, the male dies or they are eaten by larger females. The female eight-legged friends now finally start making cocoons in the months of September and October. This is where they lay their eggs. Every single cocoon is included 40 to 50 eggs filled.
Spider cocoon Source: © 2015 Jee & Rani Nature Photography (License: CC BY-SA 4.0), Spider cocoon-Kadavoor-2015-08-22-001, Adapted from Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
After oviposition, this cocoon will be secured with a species yellowish cotton thread densely woven. Once inside, the eggs can easily survive the winter. The cocoons are deposited well hidden, mostly where the animals used to live. For example, this can be done safely between flower umbels. When the work is done, the females also die. The following spring, with the first rays of sunshine, the spiderlings, as the young spiders are also called, hatch.
In the garden spider, only the eggs hibernate in the cocoon. The situation is different with the wasp spiders (Agriope bruennichi), here too cocoons are used for hibernation, not only for the young spiders, but also for the adult spiders.
notice: Water spiders (Argyroneta aquatica) hibernate in empty snail shells in water bodies. These are filled with breathing air before they move in and finally closed with a tight weave. The house floats on the surface of the water and freezes in the ice until spring.
Cannibalism in the "Spider Kingdom"
Just like the garden spider, many other spider species also experience that the adult animals do not survive the cold season, but protect their offspring beforehand, such as the nurse's thorn finger (Cheiracanthium punctorium). This is the only one slightly poisonous spiderwho lives in Germany. The female also lays her eggs in a cocoon in the fall. After the young have hatched, the mother dies in the web and serves as food for the young spiders throughout the winter. In the cocoon they are adequately protected against the cold because it is well insulated. When they leave the web in spring, they are well nourished and developed.
Survive through Hibernation
Some spider species, including the sac spiders (Clubionidae), fall into a so-called hibernation. During this state, the entire metabolism shuts down in order to survive the winter without food. But that alone is not enough, as the small animals would cool down quickly. In addition, ice crystals quickly form inside the body cells. The sharp edges of these would damage the cell walls and ultimately kill the crawling creatures.
In order to prevent freezing, various spider species form an endogenous "antifreeze". In this way they can prevent the body solutions from freezing at temperatures below 0 °C. The body fluids are enriched with either glycerin or glucose. The eight-legged friends then fall into a hibernation. The glycerin or glucose then have the same effect as a normal antifreeze. In this state, the animals are completely rigid and motionless. They cannot move, but do not survive or die during this time. They usually spend their hibernation in the ground until spring. During hibernation, temperatures of -20 °C can be survived.
Others need cold
When temperatures drop, most species of spiders quickly seek shelter where they can survive the cold season unscathed if possible. Others hibernate and others need cold to develop and grow. We're talking about here harvestman (Opiliones). Although it is not a real spider, but more of an arachnid, it is still a close relative. The adult animals die before the onset of winter, but the young have been taken care of. This overwinters in the eggs. Several cold winter days, a real cold shock, are necessary for healthy growth.
tip: In order to help spiders or other insects survive the cold season unscathed, an "insect hotel" can be set up in the garden to help them overwinter. Some species will gratefully accept this shelter.