The Mystery of the Six Legged Spider
This weekend I took a brief opportunity to look at what I could find outside. The weather has been cold here and we recently got over a snowstorm, so I wasn’t too optimistic. In addition, it started raining soon after I got out so I didn’t have much time to take any pictures.
I did manage to find this tiny spider though on my kids’ slide.
This spider was incredibly tiny - requiring 5x magnification from my MP-E 65 to get this shot. After downloading the shot, I looked through some of my books to attempt to get an ID - but after some investigation I can 100% say I have no idea what type of spider this is.
When my wife looked at the picture, she picked out an obvious mystery. It only has six legs.
I thought for a bit on why this is so.
- It is an insect that mimics a spider. I do not think this is so - mainly due to the arrangement of the legs (four on one side and two on the other) and the palps on the front.
- It is a spider but has lost two of its legs.
I believe the second possibility is true. Take a look at the side of the spider.
It looks like there are stubs where the two legs used to exist. Here’s a closeup.
Why would this occur? I’m not really entirely sure but I have read that when the spider attacks poisonous prey, sometimes it gets bitten in the leg as it grasps its prey. When that happens, the spider will often amputate its own leg in order to stay alive. Perhaps that is what happened here?
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Tags: arachnid, macro, mystery, photography, six legs, spider
This is the weirdest coincidence! Several days ago I was dustmopping my bathroom floor, when a tiny movement caught my eye in an area I hadn’t gotten to yet. I discovered a very tiny spider, rust colored with a (relatively) long oval body and pale legs. And, without a word of a lie, it was missing two of its back legs, but on the left side!
When I saw your incredible photo I had to comment. I have the spider in a little bottle so I can watch it for a while, and have been feeding it gnats and such. It seems to be doing well enough. I wonder if it will grow?
I agree with you that the explanation for the missing legs is most likely the second one. I didn’t know about them amputating legs to save their lives after being bitten by prey. Very interesting.
Thank you for your stunning photo - I love the little eyes! I live among many spiders in my house (uninvited), but never *get* to see them close up.
That spider is surprisingly similar to one I discovered on my parents Christmas tree This year… if you figure out the type I’d be interested to what it is…
<a href=”http://scottgunshell.smugmug.com/photos/442812000_AHazu-L.jpg” title=”Small Spider”
I don’t know what it is either, but it’s a nice shot. I’d doubt that it only had six legs to begin with. I’d also say with some certainty that it lost its legs at one point. Most likely an epic battle with a flea, considering that this is a 5x shot.