- What is a spider when it really wants to be an ant?
Spiders — hate them or love them, you have to admit they’re strange creatures. With their eight legs and eyes, webs, and ravenous predatory habits, they really put the “creepy” in “creepy crawly.”
But, as it usually goes, some spiders are stranger than others. The way they express their unusual nature differs greatly. Some of them look absolutely alien, while others seem normal but behave in weird ways.
Here are nine of the most bizarre spiders you can find. Arachnophobes beware.
9. Hawaiian Happy-Face Spider
Let’s kick things off with something that might not make you feel weirdly itchy. Look at this happy little fella!
It’s easy to see how the Hawaiian happy-face spider got its nickname. It carries a smiley face on its back wherever it goes.
That’s not always the case, though. Another strange thing about this spider is the huge variety of patterns and colors it comes in.
Certain happy-face spiders have no happy face at all and instead, their pattern is a mish-mash of dots and lines. Some of them even may change colors momentarily based on whatever they’re digesting.
8. Assassin Spider
Assassin spiders are also known by a less intimidating name. They’re sometimes called pelican spiders because their ridiculously oversized jaws resemble a pelican’s beak.
There’s a reason to have those big jaws, though. These assassins feed almost exclusively on other spiders, so the more distance they can put between themselves and another pair of venomous jaws, the better.
The huge jaws weigh a lot, though, so assassin spiders have developed weird-looking long necks to support their chompers. These guys date all the way back to when dinosaurs roamed the land — maybe that’s why they look so freaky.
7. Nursery-Web Spider
There’s nothing weird about the nursery-web spider’s appearance. The strange part here is its sexual preferences.
This spider is into BDSM.
As part of the nursery-web spider’s mating ritual, the male often wraps the female’s legs in silk. Once she’s immobilized, he then has his way with her.
In reality, though, the tie-down is less about being kinky and more about self-preservation. Female nursery-web spiders get hungry after doing the deed — and the male is often the easiest snack available.
6. Ogre-Face Spider
Take a guess why these things are called ogre-face spiders. Could it be the creepy, unsettlingly humanoid ogre face with the bulbous eyes?
Yes, yes it could.
The ogre-face spider needs those big peepers, though. Instead of spinning a usual web, the spider builds a silken net between its front legs and lies in wait.
When a suitable insect walks by, the spider slams the webbing down onto its prey. The last thing that poor bug will ever see is that horrendous face approaching it from the shadows.
5. Weaver-Ant Spider
Who put this ant on the list? Wait. That’s no ant!
Officially called the red weaver-ant mimicking jumper, these jumping spiders look almost exactly like ants. That’s because they eat ants and looking like one makes it easier to get close to them.
It’s only the females that look like an ant. The males look like two ants stuck face-to-face because of their elongated fangs that can make up a full third of their body length.
4. Peacock Spider
Here’s another kind of jumping spider for you. The peacock spider is called that because it looks and behaves much like its bird counterpart.
Like a real peacock, the peacock spider male has a wide, colorful butt. When it meets a lovely lady, the male peacock spider will lift its abdomen up and stage an elaborate mating dance.
As far as spiders go, these guys are really cute. There’s just something adorable about the little furry thing doing its best dance to woo its crush.
3. Giant Golden Orb Weaver
If peacock spiders were cute, you can’t say that about the giant golden orb weaver. With their legs counted in, they can be up to eight inches long.
To support that size, they have to weave a sturdy web. Their silk is so strong that sometimes small birds and bats get caught in it.
That’s bad news for the birds and bats because this spider doesn’t restrict its diet to insects. Many tourists visiting Southeast Asia have been horrified to see these things wrap up and chow down on birds.
Only the females, though. The males are much smaller —up to 10 times smaller than the females.
2. Diving Bell Spider
Did you get so creeped out by the giant golden orb weaver that you jumped into a lake? We’re to tell you, but you’re still not safe from spiders.
The diving bell spider lives underwater.
Found in Europe and western Asia, the diving bell spider is the only spider spending most of its life underwater. That’s even if it can’t actually breathe beneath the waves.
The diving bell spider traps oxygen in its body hairs and dives into the water. It then deposits the oxygen on the underside of a suitable surface to create a nest for itself.
1. Plant-eating Jumping Spiders
Spiders have a reputation for being insatiable hunters. But not all spiders — many jumping spiders include plant matter in their diet.
They have been observed to drink nectar out of flowers, like bees or butterflies. Biologists believe consuming nectar helps the spiders survive periods when prey is scarce.
As a result, they sometimes end up covered in pollen like bees. Imagine the cute little peacock spider with pollen all over its fuzzy body!
Oh, and the weaver-ant spider? It takes its ant mimicry so far that it sometimes milks and drinks honeydew out of aphids.
Are we sure these things don’t just actually want to be ants?