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.   Sicarius hahni egg sac Photo Credit: Sergey Tugarinov
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.

Sicarius hahni young in egg sac Photo Credit: Sergey Tugarinov

 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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