• Question: where do spiders come out of nowhere in the night when you can't see them during the day.

    Asked by yolo98 to Bob, Katie, Nisha, Sallie, Vee on 27 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Bob Bonwick

      Bob Bonwick answered on 27 Jun 2012:


      I don’t like spiders… They are in general nocturnal hunters. Which is odd as flys are day time insects. However I do know that spiders have poor eye sight even though they have 8 of them. The respond to light, heat and vibrations. They are more active at night as their predators are generally asleep at night too.

    • Photo: Sallie Baxendale

      Sallie Baxendale answered on 28 Jun 2012:


      Like Bob says, most spiders are notcturnal – they hide themselves away during the day, down cracks and in really small spaces where we never notice them.

    • Photo: Katie McDonald

      Katie McDonald answered on 28 Jun 2012:


      Yes, they’re nocturnal. In the house they live in corners, little holes in the wall, or under furniture, but in the Amazon the tarantulas have sort of nests/holes in the ground. I was in the jungle at night and the guide pulled one out of a hole so we could see it. It was bigger than my hand!

    • Photo: Vee Mitchell

      Vee Mitchell answered on 2 Jul 2012:


      A spider can squeeze itself into the tinest of cracks so it can’t be seen. I think they come out at night as they have learnt that they can build their web undisturbed and then lie in wait during the day when all the flies and other tasty insects appear and wait for breakfast.

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