Interesting or Unusual Behaviour

[Flutterby]

Wow, very clever.

[Lisbeth]

[Richprins]

[Flutterby]

Ausark Education

What you see here is one ridiculously lucky spider. Lucky that Elina Walsh just happened to come across her after she had somehow lost all but 2 of her legs and had become emaciated.

Spiders grow by moulting out of their exoskeleton (on the outside rather than the inside) so the new one underneath can expand and harden up again. It just so happens that they are INCREDIBLE in that they can grow entire limbs within their moulting exoskeleton to replace lost limbs. That means that if a spider isn't finished growing and it moults, it can regain its limbs after removal.

Spiders can function remarkably well with a few legs missing but when Elina posted her new little friend's plight onto an online spider group for help she was met with amazement, yes, but also a lot of doubt. Many people believed the spider would die but Elina gave her water to drink by soaking cotton wool and helped her to feed on small roaches (she was very uncoordinated but determined and she always got there in the end).

Then this happened! Little 'Peggy' had enough energy for a SUCCESSFUL moult and grew back her 6 missing legs! For now they are only small but at her next moult you wont even be able to tell that she lost them. They are weaker than her other legs and more fragile but they do the job and 8 is much better than 2!

Love your dedication, Elina. 3.5 weeks of intensive care! What a lucky little huntsman spider.

[Richprins]

Peggy!

Astounding!

[Lisbeth]

Elina must be very keen on spiders in order to go through such an ordeal Surprising!

[Lisbeth]

Did you know...



HIGH-FLYERS. Bumblebees have been discovered on Mount Everest at more than 5,600m above sea level, and in scientific tests, they coped in a flight chamber that simulated conditions at 9,000m - higher than the 8,848m summit of Mount Everest. At 9,000m, air pressure is about a third of that at sea level, so it is harder to fly, with less air for wings to beat against; it's also harder to breathe.

[Flutterby]

[Klipspringer]

This is a tenebrionid beetle of the genus Ocnodes.

In many tenebrionids, the mate recognition system includes sound production and sound reception. In southern Africa, diverse modes of sound production can be observed, from tapping on the ground with the body to the development of complex and multiform stridulatory organs. The highly specific rhythm of tapping, the equally specific frequency and amplitude of the stridulatory sounds as well as their varied use during courtship, indicate the important role of sound in mate recognition in this group of beetles.
In Ocnodes, drumming/tapping on the ground with the body, is the common method of sound production.

[Lisbeth]

The human ear cannot perceive it though?

(Lovely background sounds)