So, it seems that Sicarius spp. fluoresce under UV ! :D

Who knew! This might be a good way to help keep track of where the spider is when cleaning time comes around.

[YOUTUBE]p6iZEStxrPw[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]KAdjB4qcdMc[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]3hO_bwJeqao[/YOUTUBE]

Venom said:

Who knew! This might be a good way to help keep track of where the spider is when cleaning time comes around.

[YOUTUBE]p6iZEStxrPw[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]KAdjB4qcdMc[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]3hO_bwJeqao[/YOUTUBE]

Click to expand...

Woah! That's crazy! Anyone have a reason why they do that?

Hmm, strange. I just tried it with mine and they are not glowing. What kind of sand and UV light are you using? Mine coat their bodies in the fine sand that I use, so it makes sense that they don't glow, I'll have to try with a fresh molted one next time before they bury themselves.

Later, Tom

Philth said:

Hmm, strange. I just tried it with mine and they are not glowing. What kind of sand and UV light are you using? Mine coat their bodies in the fine sand that I use, so it makes sense that they don't glow, I'll have to try with a fresh molted one next time before they bury themselves.

Later, Tom

Click to expand...

The specimen in the videos isn't mine. I found this online.

The owner of the spider is claiming that it is the sand that fluoresces, but that the substrate itself doesn't fluoresce. Apparently, she says, the substrate is a mix of fine sand, and purple sand, and only the fine sand glows like this. I am guessing that she is using calcite sand (as calcite is known to fluoresce), and that the other, purple stuff, doesn't glow because it is coated and/ or a different mineral. It would seem in this substrate setup, that the spider's adhesive cuticle-barbs only pick up and hold on to the finer fluorescent calcite, and not the coarser painted sand it is mixed with. The spider, now coated with fluorescent material but sitting atop mostly non-fluorescent mixed sands, stands out.

So perhaps that's not as cool as its own cuticle fluorescing, but it's still a useful strategy for making the spider more visible when desired.