Music:

Camiidae webpage: https://camiidae.carrd.co/

-Hymn to the Muse - Ancient Greek Song – Farya Faraji:
https://youtu.be/G1rf-Q6WmNc?si=wEws7T3P9PBVPTyd

-Gemstone frog: music for critters – Camiidae: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeAHx7oVmMI

-Ant: Bugs odyssey – Camiidae:
https://youtu.be/IgVbm8dydgw?si=VkKH5MYyI2PajiPc

-Bumblebee: Music for bugs – Camiidae:
https://youtu.be/V5oaKRZ_bCc?si=EwTFmHejhtTJG8Tb

-Burlesque – National sweetheart:
https://youtu.be/NxXdEhXtTVw?si=5cd0xPDyoC64_sje

-Scarab Beetle: Music for bugs – Camiidae:
https://youtu.be/RHMdsATmNQA?si=NAS6DcwgxZP4MlYE

Sound Effects:

-Ukulele Old _ Chord _ G Fast Strum ZoomH5XY by Sadiquecat -- https://freesound.org/s/727195/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

-Ukulele Old _ Chord _ Am Slow strum-though NT5 L_12Fret R_Soundhole by Sadiquecat -- https://freesound.org/s/727176/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

-Ukulele Chord _ Open_string C6 NT5 L_12Fret R_Soundhole by Sadiquecat -- https://freesound.org/s/726819/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

-Ukulele Old _ OS_ C Fret 4 NT5 L_12Fret R_Soundhole by Sadiquecat -- https://freesound.org/s/726989/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

-Ukulele Old _ OS_ G Fret 16 ZoomH5XY by Sadiquecat -- https://freesound.org/s/726945/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

-Ukulele OS_ C Fret 8 ZoomH5XY by Sadiquecat -- https://freesound.org/s/726726/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

-Ukulele OS_ A Fret 2 ZoomH5XY by Sadiquecat -- https://freesound.org/s/726679/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

References:

“Ananse | West African Folklore, Mythology & Legends | Britannica.” Accessed October 30, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ananse.

“Arachne | Weaving, Spinning, Athena | Britannica,” September 4, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arachne.

Barth, Friedrich G. “No Spider Without Poison.” In A Spider’s World: Senses and Behavior, edited by Friedrich G. Barth, 29–33. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, 2002. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04899-3_5.

Blackledge, Todd A., Nikolaj Scharff, Jonathan A. Coddington, Tamas Szüts, John W. Wenzel, Cheryl Y. Hayashi, and Ingi Agnarsson. “Reconstructing Web Evolution and Spider Diversification in the Molecular Era.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106, no. 13 (March 31, 2009): 5229–34. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0901377106.

Frynta, Daniel, Markéta Janovcová, Iveta Štolhoferová, Šárka Peléšková, Barbora Vobrubová, Petra Frýdlová, Hana Skalíková, Petr Šípek, and Eva Landová. “Emotions Triggered by Live Arthropods Shed Light on Spider Phobia.” Scientific Reports 11, no. 1 (November 15, 2021): 22268. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01325-z.

Kuhn-Nentwig, Lucia, Reto Stöcklin, and Wolfgang Nentwig. “Venom Composition and Strategies in Spiders: Is Everything Possible?☆☆Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Lev G. Magazanik, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia, at the Occasion of His 80th Anniversary.” In Advances in Insect Physiology, edited by Jérôme Casas, 40:1–86. Spider Physiology and Behaviour. Academic Press, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-387668-3.00001-5.

Landová, Eva, Markéta Janovcová, Iveta Štolhoferová, Silvie Rádlová, Petra Frýdlová, Kristýna Sedláčková, and Daniel Frynta. “Specificity of Spiders among Fear- and Disgust-Eliciting Arthropods: Spiders Are Special, but Phobics Not so Much.” PLOS ONE 16, no. 9 (September 23, 2021): e0257726. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257726.

Shahriari-Namadi, Marziae, Hamid Reza Tabatabaei, and Aboozar Soltani. “Entomophobia and Arachnophobia Among School-Age Children: A Psychological Approach.” Shiraz E-Medical Journal In Press, no. In Press (June 12, 2018). https://doi.org/10.5812/semj.64824.

Vassilevski, A. A., S. A. Kozlov, and E. V. Grishin. “Molecular Diversity of Spider Venom.” Biochemistry (Moscow) 74, no. 13 (December 1, 2009): 1505–34. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006297909130069.

Vetter, Richard S., and Geoffrey K. Isbister. “Medical Aspects of Spider Bites.” Annual Review of Entomology 53, no. Volume 53, 2008 (January 1, 2008): 409–29. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.53.103106.093503.

Vollrath, Fritz, and Paul Selden. “The Role of Behavior in the Evolution of Spiders, Silks, and Webs.” Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 38, no. Volume 38, 2007 (December 1, 2007): 819–46. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.37.091305.110221.

Wiederhold, Brenda K., and Stéphane Bouchard. “Arachnophobia and Fear of Other Insects: Efficacy and Lessons Learned from Treatment Process.” In Advances in Virtual Reality and Anxiety Disorders, edited by Brenda K. Wiederhold and Stéphane Bouchard, 91–117. Boston, MA: Springer US, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-8023-6_5.

Yankah, Kwesi. “THE AKAN TRICKSTER CYCLE: MYTH OR FOLKTALE?,” n.d.

-Herberstein, M. E. (2011). Spider Behaviour : Flexibility and Versatility. Cambridge University Press.

-Santerre, M. (2013). Spiders : Morphology, Behavior and Geographic Distribution. Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Accessed October 4, 2020.

-Weng, Y. (2019). Spiders. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.

-Gray, Mike (26 de noviembre de 2018) Spider Origins. Obtenido de Australian Museum:
https://australian.museum/learn/animals/spiders/spider-origins/

-University of Manachester. (5 de febrero de 2018) Spiders used to have tails says new research. Obtenido de The University of Manchester:
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/spiders-used-to-have-tails-says-new-research/

-Zielinski, Sarah (24 de diciembre de 2008) Spiders Are Not As Old As We Thought. Obtenido de Smithsonian Magazine:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/spiders-are-not-as-old-as-we-thought-3312099/

Script

Arachne was a weaver, the best of all ancient Greece. She was so confident in her skills that she faced Athena, the goddess of handicraft and reason herself in a challenge, to decided who was actually the best in that labor. Athena wove a tapestry inspired by the majesty and great deeds of the Gods. Arachne, on the other hand, chose as motif for her tapestry the romantic infidelities of them. It wasn’t clear if it was out of jealousy for her rival’s talent, or fury by the represented subject, but when Athena saw Arachne’s tapestry, she lost her temper and tore it apart. In despair Arachne decided to hang herself. But the goddess took pity on her and magically loosened the knot, the rope became a cobweb, and Arachne got transformed into a Spider [1].

-musical intro

Greetings my friend and welcome to “it’s not a monster” on defense of the misunderstood, the despised, the vilified or just… the ugly ones. I am David Andres Quinche and today we are continuing our previous talk about spiders.

If there is one thing that spiders are known for, is for their webs. They are the best weavers in nature. all of them can produce silk. And to understand how this becomes the key to their success, lets travel to the past[2].

Spiders evolved from an arachnid ancestor at the Devonian period, around 380 million years ago, older and simpler times, there was no mammals, not dinosaurs yet, not even reptiles, in land there were… mainly bugs, and our proto-spider liked to hunt them. They could actively chase them, but they count with an additional tool, they were able to produce silk, not from the same quality as modern spiders, but it was enough to design basic traps that could make the hunt way easier.

They dug a borrow in the ground and then covered it in silk, and then they extended some of this silk beyond the borrow, sometimes would be just a couple of threads, sometimes the full structure would resemble a funnel. The arachnid would just, sit in its den, and wait, and when something outside stumbles upon the threads, the hunter would then feel it through the vibrations… and jump over its oblivious prey[3].

There are some spiders that nowadays still use very similar techniques, the primitive looking Liphistiidae and the big Mygalomorphae, better known as Tarantulas.

However, some tens of million years later, during the carboniferous, the first flying insects appeared and they soon become the norm, making this land trap not so effective, but spiders wouldn’t lag behind. At this point they were able to produce a more complex type of silk, silk that could be used to build proper webs. And here is where we get our typical orb-web spiders, specialized in build vertical webs to capture flying preys. And so, as insects were gradually diversifying to different shapes, locomotion and ecological niches, spiders adapted to them. And that’s how we got all types of crazy architectures for all kind of proposes, sheet webs to capture jumping bugs or tridimentional webs as a counter measure for insects that specialized on hunting spiders. There are even some spiders that went beyond the mainstream web and catch flying moths by swinging a lure sticky ball attached to a single thread, As if they were swinging a medieval morning star in the middle of the night. I could expend so much time talking about this… but we need to go on[4].

Even beyond this incredible resourcefulness, the reason why spiders have conquest many types of land environment and even some aquatic ones is because they not only use their silk to hunt. Shelter, insolation, Courtship, communication, improve their mobility. Any obstacle that they find, they resolve it with silk. You need to go far but you are too small and do not have wings? Create a silk thread long enough and you can do paragliding. You need to flirt with a girl? Give her a gift… wrapped in silk.

But how is that possible? How they can use their silk for… everything. Well, not all species present this type of silk, but for those that are good weavers.

Interview 19

They have at least 7 different glands associated with silk production that allows them to alter the shape, composition and function of these silk threads at their will.

This is also a super resistant and elastic material, a thread of 0,02 micrometers can completely stop a bee at full speed. If we had the equivalent of this thread with the thickness of a pencil it would be able to stop a boeing 747 at full speed.

Interview 20

So, imagine this, those who develop this material got initially interested in these spiders once they saw that those webs were strong enough to catch a rat. This is an amazing material, and is not only good for dealing with heavy loads and forces, but also for more delicate task… like sensing

When they are put in position and tensed in the right way, the threads of a web could work… as the strings of a well-tuned guitar for a spider. Whatever creature that makes contact with these threads will produce a particular vibration. And depending on the direction, the frequency, and the intensity of this vibrations, the spider that is waiting in the center of their web can knows if it’s an intruder, a prey… or even a potential romantic interest.

For the spiders, their webs are basically an extension of their own body. they can feel or hear whatever makes contact with it

But how is this possible, how are they so sensible to detect this very subtle vibrations… and why?

It’s time to talk about how spiders sense the world around them. The topic in which actually Diego focused his research on.

Interview 21

Most of spiders have a poor vision, and they don’t have antennas so they cannot rely a lot on taste and smell as insects do. So, they make great use of their touch and hearing. Both senses that are highly enhanced by a smart use of their silk, as I just mentioned.

Interview 22

But these are not the only sensorial structures that they have in their legs

Interview 23

Spiders do not have ears like us, neither they have a smooth sensitive skin, instead they have a hard exoskeleton. So what a better solution than having all these small and highly tune pressure detectors around the surface of their long and numerous legs… so sensitive that they can even hear colors.

These sensors are actually something that could have a similar potential for biotechnology that the one we saw with the silk.

Interview 24

I know that it could be a little bit anticlimactic conclusion, but that’s how science works, is such a huge picture that you can only make a fist draft, so another person can continue the drawing. And for good and interesting ideas like this one, there is always someone eager to continue the work.

------------

There is, however, a group of spiders that do not follow the aforementioned pattern, they do not rely on this degree on their earing or their webs. They are basically the antithesis of the mainstream spider. The Salticidae family.

Interview 25

Their two frontal eyes (two of the eight that they have in total) have 4 different types of color receptor cells when we only have 3, which corresponds to each of the primary colors that we perceive, this could means that they are able to see way more colors than us. They also perceive a wider spectrum of light, being able to detect the same range of frequences than us and some little more in the ultraviolet extreme.

Interview 26

Why is this, why they have such amazing vision. Despite the fact that they do produce silk, as Diego said they do not build any type of web, so that means that they went back to actively chasing their preys. The Salticidae are also known as jumping spiders because they are very good at ambush by… jumping, veery long jumps. That’s when they use their astonishing vision.

But they also use something else, they great intellect. Some of them went ambitious and hunt web spiders, way bigger and better protected than them. So they need to rely on deceiving and a cunning use of the environment, showing innovative behavior and a complex 3d space thinking. At this point they could be between the smartest arthropods that we have studied.

And yes, this is a spider that can jump. But they look way less menacing than the rest. There is actually a lot of people that find them… kind of cute? They are small, their bodies are more compact, and they have these two big frontal eyes. They like us are visual oriented beings. If you stand close and look at them, it’s not like with the other spiders, these ones are going to reorient their bodies to look you back, like a small puppy. I think that this make them feel more familiar, and that’s why people like them more.

But I hope that, after this thoughtful introduction of the hole spider group, you now feel a little bit more familiar with the other species too, which can also be cute and deserving of love. These lovely and solitary creatures, the type that would rather, instead of going to party hard with friends, stay at their cozy home, with their comfortable solitude, knitting and drinking shakes or soups.

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You can find references and extra material at the description. This episode was produced by me, David Quinche Giraldo, and with the collaboration of our interviewee, Diego Parra.

Thanks for listening! And see you next time.

[1] “Arachne | Weaving, Spinning, Athena | Britannica,” September 4, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arachne.

[2] Blackledge et al., “Reconstructing Web Evolution and Spider Diversification in the Molecular Era”; Vollrath and Selden, “The Role of Behavior in the Evolution of Spiders, Silks, and Webs.”

[3] Vollrath and Selden, “The Role of Behavior in the Evolution of Spiders, Silks, and Webs.”

[4] Blackledge et al., “Reconstructing Web Evolution and Spider Diversification in the Molecular Era”; Vollrath and Selden, “The Role of Behavior in the Evolution of Spiders, Silks, and Webs.”