Spiders might actually experience emotions, but they aren’t too sentimental
There’s something about thresholds that make spiders think, “Yeah, this is a great f*cking spot for a home.” Two pillars conveniently spaced for people to pass through? That’s primo spider real estate. Unfortunately, this means we humans inadvertently destroy spiderwebs all the time. Sure, it’s unpleasant for us to get all coated in web, but imagine how it must feel for the spider! You just stomped right through their cozy abode! I imagine it must be devastating.
This is one of the many problems that keep my brain revving like a dirt bike at night. Spiders are our friends: There are more than 50,000 varieties, but only a small handful are known to be harmful to humans when provoked. The vast majority mind their own business and eat up other nasty bugs. But do they feel the burden of unrequited love?
“It’s unlikely that spiders, with their tiny brains, would have an emotional response analogous to the sadness that we’d feel when something we’ve built has been destroyed,” says Jerome S. Rovner, arachnid expert and co-author of Spider Communication: Mechanisms and Ecological Significance.
Scientists are still unsure if arachnids and insects experience emotion at all, though a 2016 study found that bumblebees may experience a “positive emotion-like state.” Other research suggests that even fruit flies can experience fear. Still, these “emotions” are likely correlated with hunger and self-preservation. If a spider’s web is destroyed multiple times, for example, it may simply relocate its web.
“Their response has to do mostly with their failure to catch an adequate number of prey per day due to the loss of the web,” says Rovner. “Indeed, even without any web destruction, spiders relocate their webs if they aren’t catching enough prey per day at a particular site. So their feeling — if they had one — would be one of hunger. However, they don’t have to have any such feeling to show a relocation response — no more than a bee has to have a feeling of anger when it stings you in defense of its hive.”
What a freaking relief!
Spiders, in fact, often rebuild their webs daily, regardless of whether I carelessly stroll right through them. According to The Handy Answer Book for Kids (And Parents), a book that I ought to own for myself and myself alone, the average spider only takes about an hour to build their web, and it’s not really even like it’s their house: The primary purpose for most webs is to catch prey. After about a day, however, the web loses some of its stickiness. For that reason, spiders routinely rebuild their webs for better bug-catching ability.
Further, spiders apparently enjoy a clean space. “Due to the sticky nature of these locations they attract debris, dust and particles,” spider-centric site SpiderWorlds.com says of webs. “[Spiders] don’t enjoy living in such an area, though, so they will do what they can to make that environment cleaner.”
Spiders are also used to their sh*t getting wrecked — we’re not the only larger creatures they have to deal with. Rovner cites birds as common enemies of webs. Even humidity and sunlight can spell trouble for a web. Despite being so easy to destroy, though, the silk that spiders produce to build their webs is allegedly five times stronger than steel.
If spiders do indeed have emotions, I hope they feel pride in that fact.
Magdalene Taylor is a staff writer at MEL. She covers internet culture, sex and the online adult industry. She lives in Brooklyn but is from God's Country, Western Massachusetts.
FAQs
Originally Answered: Do spiders get frustrated when their webs are destroyed? I don't think they do. I have destroyed a few spider webs and come back s few hours later and see that they have built another one just as good as the first. They are very Conscientious and hard working.
What happens if you keep destroying a spiders web? ›
One reason they like undisturbed locations is that they don't want to go through all the work of creating a web only to have it destroyed. When you destroy a web, you send a signal to spiders that this is not a good place to build a web. The result is that the spiders will establish their webs in other places.
Can a spider get depressed? ›
Spiders have no need for complex emotions like social animals do, so they probably can't feel sad like we do. Some even eat other spiders without an ounce of empathy. On the other hand, spider mothers guard and take good care of their babies.
Does it hurt a spider to pull its web out? ›
Spiders use their webs to catch food, protect themselves, and lay their eggs. Pulling the web out can damage it and make it more vulnerable to predators. It can also stress the spider and make it less likely to survive. If you need to remove a spider web, do it carefully and gently.
Is killing a spider bad karma? ›
It means very bad luck for the spider. It might also mean self-fulfilling bad luck for you when you remember back in your mind that you have killed an innocent and beneficial being, and that it was an act that superstitiously mean bad luck. What can happen then is self-inflicted karma.
Does throwing spiders hurt them? ›
Due to their low weight compared with body surface area, and the thread acting as a parachute, a true spider should survive a fall. However, if it is a type of house spider, it may not survive outside regardless of any issues with falling.
How do I permanently get rid of spiders? ›
To get rid of spiders, inspect your home for harborage areas and entry points, seal all gaps and cracks, remove cobwebs, clean and declutter your space, apply a perimeter insecticide, set traps, and spot-treat individual spiders.
What is the best way to destroy a spider web? ›
Spider webs are pretty easy to remove. All you need is a broom or a vacuum cleaner with a hose attachment. Once you're armed with one of these cleaning tools, simply remove the spider web. That's all there is to it.
Do spiders feel lonely? ›
Lonely spiders get aggressive, according to French researchers. Many spider species are social when they're young but become aggressive and even cannibalistic when they encounter each other as solitary adults (much like human Christmas dinners).
Do spiders feel emotion? ›
There's no reason to think that spiders would feel emotions of any sort. Their instincts might make them act violently against a perceived threat, and of course they do stalk and kill things, but those actions are survival routines, with no evidence of ill will, or glee, or satisfaction, or any other feelings.
You have a heightened sense of empathy — you've taken the life of a living thing. It had a sense of itself, it had a “purpose” to its travels, and no other spider in the universe is exactly like it. If you take that point of view, feeling “bad” is a good thing.
Is it OK to pick up a spider? ›
Some species of spiders bite when they're provoked, causing painful swelling and irritation, which means they aren't safe to handle directly. Furthermore, spiders are beneficial predators that are good to have around, so killing them should only be a last resort.
Can spiders take back their webs? ›
Lastly, some spider species, such as orb-weaving spiders, may rebuild their webs regularly, even as often as on a daily basis. These spiders typically consume the old web each morning and construct a fresh one in the evening.
Do spiders get angry? ›
Spiders, like almost all other animals, will avoid humans and will run away if any avenue of escape is left open to it. Don't allow children or anyone else to poke sticks into the web or otherwise annoy the spider. The animal may get angry or scared enough to bite.
Why should you not squish a spider? ›
If you squish a spider with your hands, you will have spider matter all over your hands. You are also at risk of getting bitten.
Why do spiders undo their webs? ›
Some orb weaver spiders tear down and even consume much of the web's silk as the morning begins to dawn. This interesting habit is performed in order take in moisture from dew that may have settled on the web and to prevent large animals such as birds from getting caught in the web.
