When it comes to the world of spiders there are plenty of horrifying creatures out there. The hackled orb weaving spider certainly falls into the category of terrifying spider. However it does so for a different reason.
The hackled orb weaver isn’t deadly to human, and in fact it doesn’t have poison glands at all. Instead this orb weaver kills its prey by literally crushing it to death using its silk.
This is what the heckled orb weaver looks like. Not too scary right? Well just wait until it gets going. Not only does this spider not have any poison glands, it doesn’t even have penetrating teeth.
share
You might think that would be a good news for any insect unfortunate enough to be caught in the heckled orb weaver’s web. Not so. When prey enters its web, the spider quickly begins wrapping the hapless victim in silk to immobilze it.
share
Then once the spider’s next meal is stuck, the orb weaver keeps going. It continues to wrap the trapped insect in more and more silk. This binds the prey tighter and tighter until its wings and legs are broken and there is no chance of escape.
share
But now you see the hackled orb weaver finds itself in a dilemma. It has this insect, likely a moth, all bound up with broken legs and wings, but it’s still alive. Well at that point the orb weaver just keep weaving silk, but now concentrating on the victim’s head. It keeps doing this, tighter and tighter, until eventually the insect’s eyes are forced backwards into it’s own head.
share
(via: io9)
Those poor moths. In total the hackled orb weaver uses 140 meters (about 459 feet) of silk to crush its prey to death. Nature is wonderful, and more terrifying than any movie.
