Reproduction
Like all spiders, Sicarius hahni is able to produce silk from
their abdominal glands. This is typically used for making webs,
like lots of spiders that are seen every day. The desert
dwelling Sicarius species does not make webs, however,
utilizes this unique ability to make silk bundles called egg
sacs to surround their eggs. When I first learned these spiders
lay their eggs in the sand, the phrase "start them young" popped
up in my mind. These spiders spend an amazingly large portion of
their life in a close association with sand, so it makes perfect
sense that they enter the world basically buried in it. Because these
spiders are hiding under sand for a large portion of their days,
when a male approaches a female to mate it does so slowly so it
does not trigger a fight or flight response from the female
spider.
The picture above is a female spider inside an egg sac made for
laying eggs. This sac is made of many sand particles that
are stuck together using silk produced from the spider. Each of
these egg sacs can house a great number of young, like in the
picture below.
To watch a video of a Sicarius spider constructing an egg sac
similar to the ones pictured above, follow this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9yvqIVQ9mE
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