How do domestic spiders like the garden spider hibernate?

During the warmer months of the year, the little crawling animals run into your path all the time. In the meantime they have adapted their habits to the circumstances. Just like humans, domestic spiders do not like the cold season. They are trying to escape the winter temperatures and have developed various strategies in the process. There are very few of them who are also active in winter. But what are the remaining spiders doing now?

How do spiders hibernate?

Spiders are one of the 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 the carrier the animals become. Without protective measures, they would inevitably freeze to death. Survival for domestic spiders can quickly become a problem. As a rule, spiders seek refuge in cold winters, where they can overwinter frost-free. That 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 also other ways a spider can brave cold temperatures. More on that later.

Note: Around 80 percent of all domestic spiders seek protection from the cold in the ground during winter and at the same time they find sufficient moisture there.

Winter inside

When the cold season comes outside, many larger spiders are drawn inside into the house, apartment, basement or garage. Three native species in particular like to choose these places as shelter:

• Trembling spider (Pholcidae)
• Curled Spider (Zoropsis spinimana) and
• Angle spider (Tegnaria)

The rather inconspicuous trembling spider is usually only noticed in the apartment, if already veil-like cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. Curled spiders are more at home in the regions of the Mediterranean, but due to climate change they are also spreading in Germany. However, they are not yet very widespread, but they also love a warm place in the apartment. It can get a little more uncomfortable when the approximately 10 cm tall and hairy angle spider appears in the house. However, there is no danger for humans, it can only cause a little discomfort. The spider can safely be moved to the cellar. Here it even turns out to be useful, because there it eats all sorts of vermin like

• Cellar lobsters
• To fly
• smaller spiders

It wouldn't be a problem at all for the angle spider to get them back into the open to put. The spider can hibernate here well, sometimes even better than inside. It finds good shelter in the ground, under stones and tree bark and wood. A spider can dry out, especially in heated rooms. She always needs enough water so she doesn't die. 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 nets are visible near the ground on meadows and above bushes. With the help of Flying threads let yourself drift in the wind even in the cold season to get around. They can retreat unhindered under tree bark or piles of leaves and, if necessary, get along without food for weeks.

tip: Some piles of leaves should remain in the garden over the winter. They not only cater to spiders and other insects, but also Hedgehogs a winter protection.

Hibernate in the cocoon

The situation is different with the garden spider (Araneus). The garden spider (Araneus diadematus) is the most common in this country. These types of spiders will never be seen in your home or apartment. They have their very own strategy for saving themselves over the winter. However, adult garden spiders do not survive the winter.

In August the males start looking for females ready to mate. Some time after mating, the male dies or they are also eaten by larger females. The female eight-legged animals finally start making cocoons in September and October. This is where they lay their eggs. Every single cocoon is with 40 to 50 eggs filled.

After the eggs are laid, this cocoon is safely covered with a species yellowish cotton wool tightly woven. In there, the eggs can easily survive the winter. The cocoons are deposited well hidden, mostly where the animals lived. For example, this can be done safely between flower umbels. Then when the work is done, the females die too. In the following spring with the first rays of sunshine, the spiderlings hatch, as the young spiders are also known by experts.

In the garden spider, only the eggs overwinter in the cocoon. The situation is different with the wasp spiders (Agriope bruennichi), here too cocoons are used for wintering, but not only for the young spiders, but also for the adult spiders.

Note: Water spiders (Argyroneta aquatica) overwinter in empty snail shells in water. These are filled with breathing air before they move in and finally closed with a solid web. The house then drifts on the surface of the water and freezes there in the ice until spring.

Cannibalism in the "Spider Realm"

Just like the garden spider, it is also the case with many other spider species that the adult animals do not survive the cold season, but secure their offspring beforehand, such as the Nurse Dornfinger (Cheiracanthium punctorium). This is the only one slightly poisonous spiderwho lives in Germany. The female also lays the eggs in a cocoon in autumn. After the young animals have hatched, the mother dies in the web and serves as food for the young spiders over the winter. In the cocoon they are adequately protected against the cold, as this is well insulated. When they leave the web in spring, they are well nourished and developed.

Survive by “hibernating”

Some spider species, including the sack spiders (Clubionidae), fall into a so-called Numbness. During this state, the entire metabolism is shut down in order to survive the winter without food. But that alone is not enough, as the small animals would quickly cool down. In addition, ice crystals quickly form inside the body's cells. The sharp edges of these would cause injuries to the cell walls and ultimately the death of the crawfish.

In order to prevent freezing to death, different types of spiders form an endogenous "Antifreeze„. In this way, you can prevent the body solutions from freezing at temperatures below 0 ° C. The body fluids are enriched with either glycerine or glucose. The eight-legged animals then fall into a freeze. The glycerine 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 they do not survive or die during this time. They usually spend their hibernation quietly in the ground until spring. Temperatures of -20 ° C can be survived in rigid winter conditions.

Others need cold

Most spider species quickly seek shelter when the temperature drops, where they can survive the cold season without damage if possible. Others become frozen in winter and others need cold to develop and grow. We are talking about Harvestman (Opiliones). It is not a real spider, but rather an arachnid, but still a close relative. The adult animals die before the onset of winter, but the offspring were taken care of. This hibernates in the eggs. Several cold winter days, a real cold shock, are necessary for healthy growth.

tip: To help spiders or other insects unharmed through the cold season, a "Insect hotel“To be set up as an aid to wintering. Some species will thankfully accept this refuge.