Creature Day……Diving Spider

Good morning and damn it is cold here this morning only 3 degrees when I go up and still only 5 degrees 2.5hrs later and I shaking a lot due I suspect to the cold.

Well today I have yet another damn spider this one is the Diving Bell Spider they live in still waterways throughout Europe and are the only spider species that lives its entire lives underwater, mating, laying eggs and catching prey from their webs.

This clever little spider only needs to come to the surface of its pond once a day to breathe, it spins a web underwater and fills it with oxygen.

It moves tiny bubbles of air from above the water surface to its underwater “diving bell”. The bubble works a bit like a fish’s gills, taking oxygen from the water and sending carbon dioxide back out.

When out of the water, the spider ranges in colour from mid to dark brown, although the hairs on the abdomen give it a dark grey, velvet-like appearance.

Diving bell spiders have a painful bite that can leave you in pain for a few days.

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