#cellar spiders

I am generally uncomfortable or fearful of spiders, but the exception is the humble cellar spider. They like dark places, such as basements and, you guessed it, cellars. Their defining feature is the long, lanky legs. They aren’t very fast, and once they find, commandeer, or make their own webs, they more or less stay there. Typically, this is a corner or an edge. Their body makes them look a bit weird/alien/freaky, but it adds to their allure, to me. They have fuck all for eyesight, so they’ve compensated by using vibrations. Cellar spiders can tell exactly which bug has become entangled in their webs by the vibrations they produce. Here’s where it gets interesting: cellar spiders can replicate these vibrations and trick other spiders on their webs. That’s right, they hunt other spiders! House spiders, redbacks, hobo spiders, reportedly huntsman spiders, too! Having a cellar spider in your home is good way to control or ward off other, more dangerous spiders. When males venture out to mate, they need to let the female know they’re not a bug, so they use a special vibration to signal that. When I first moved in, there were a bunch of cellar spiders. And I cleared them all out. I regret doing that, now. I just saw a cellar spider crawl near my desk, and I was excited! I’d wanted one as a pet, and now that they’re coming back, I’ve got my wish! If you see one idling in a corner in your home, it’s a good little friend to have, and I hope learning about their behavior gave you an unique appreciation for the lanky little arachnid. (I may be wrong in some parts, or have an incomplete understanding, or am missing other important information. If so, let me know! I like learning about these lads).