Spiders return from the "dead"

[xgrafcorex]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/090424-spider-resurrection-coma-drowning.html?source

Interesting article I happened across while wandering the world wide web..

Scientists "drown" spiders until they are no longer responsive and later they came back around.

[syndicate]

ahh just saw this tonight to!Interesting article!
-Chris

[Triggerman73]

That is so cool...did they actually leave the spiders in for 24 hours? they have no lives in the real world.

[Widowman10]

wow! that's a pretty cool article. never knew that. :clap:

[jsloan]

Funny this thread should appear now. Yesterday, I found one of my pitfall traps had a little bit of water in it. In the water, completely submerged, was a Thanatus sp. male. I took it out and it was as limp as a wet noodle; for all intents and purposes, dead. I didn't want to just throw it away so I put it in a pill vial to take home so I could preserve it in alcohol. An hour later, the spider had revived and was good as new. I don't know how long it had been in the water.

[Bastian Drolshagen]

hey jsloan,
you use pitfall traps without any fluid?
I usually fill my traps with saltwater and some droplets of dish-liquid.

Recently, I found a paper regarding this topic, wonder where it has gone... unfortunately not in my database :(

[jsloan]

hey jsloan,
you use pitfall traps without any fluid?

Right now I am. :) I check them every day, and I'm using some spiders for purposes other than taxonomy, so I need them alive. Later, when I put out traps that I'll only be checking weekly, I'll probably put some propylene glycol in them (doesn't harm the environment):

http://www.dow.com/productsafety/finder/prog.htm

Here is something I found by googling. I haven't read the full article. It looks interesting, though:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/t4q610185104p052


Recently, I found a paper regarding this topic, wonder where it has gone... unfortunately not in my database :(

I'd like to see that if you can find a link to it. Thanks!

[pouchedrat]

as a kid I used to do this at our garden pond.... drown insects then plop then in the sun and watch as they slowly twitched back to life. Obviously I was a VERY young kid and it was something terrible to do I realize now of course. But it WAS very fascinating to watch. It started with finding a couple dead insects in the water and taking them out, only to watch them slowly twitch back to life again. So I tried it myself and sure enough it happened almost every time.

[ScottySalticid]

*starts eyeing his T's*

*notices sink in dorm room*

hmmmm....I wonder? ;P

Just kidding, but now I wonder if T's can do this too.

[Bastian Drolshagen]

I'd like to see that if you can find a link to it. Thanks!

Found it and also added it to Endnote now :)

http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v34_n1/arac-034-01-0159.pdf

[kalvaer]

I wonder if T's can do this too.Well since H gigas can "swim", it wouldn't surprise me if others could as well. Just like cats, most hate water, and yet Turkish Vans love swimming. Its not that the others cant, they just prefer not to

[Galapoheros]

as a kid I used to do this at our garden pond.... drown insects then plop then in the sun and watch as they slowly twitched back to life. Obviously I was a VERY young kid and it was something terrible to do I realize now of course. But it WAS very fascinating to watch. It started with finding a couple dead insects in the water and taking them out, only to watch them slowly twitch back to life again. So I tried it myself and sure enough it happened almost every time.

I did the same thing with caterpillars and stuff I'd find after a heavy rain that looked dead. I had a couple of centipedes that were under cold water for around 18 hours and lived, I forgot they were in that terr outside next to the house. It was a day before I saw one move though, I was just about to throw them out.

[jsloan]

Found it and also added it to Endnote now :)

http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v34_n1/arac-034-01-0159.pdf

Thanks! Much appreciated. I'll have to start using preserving fluid before long. More ants are turning up in the traps now.

[Protectyaaaneck]

very cool article. thanks.

-Jason