Zombies seem to be a big deal these days, there’s probably 100’s of zombie movies out there today, not to mention the Walking Dead Series that’s taking the zombie apocalypse by storm. But there’s little evidence to support that any day soon we’ll actually be taken over by zombies that were once normal people. But what about spiders?
That’s right, spiders…. Scientists were shocked to see that after the drowning of a group of spiders in the lab, they only appeared to be dead. Within a few hours time, the scientists were bewildered to see that the creatures were resurrected!
Zombie Spiders Back from the Dead
The experiment that was conducted on these arachnids was supposed to determine just how long these creepy crawlies would survive under water. But it inevitably ended in their demise. Many spiders and insects alike have been known to survive drowning accidents so this was a normal experiment, or so the scientists thought…
After several hours of being submerged under water the zombie spiders began to twitch back to life, and let me tell you, the room was full of surprise. Shocked at what they discovered, the experiment began to take a new turn. As you would imagine they are now focused on how these zombie spiders did it.
Scientists Create Zombie Spiders
To be more specific on their experiment, the scientists were studying the evolutionary effects on spiders that were conditioned from living in marsh like environments. They wanted to see if the ones living in these marshes had evolved to the point of being more resistant to drowning than spiders that didn’t live in this environment, particularly spiders in forest dwellings.
One particular study consisted of three different species of wolf spider. Two were collected from salt marshes and one from a forest. There were over 100 females from each species submerged in seawater, while under water, they were poked and prodded in hopes of seeing any movement or signs of them being alert to their surroundings.
It was to no surprise that the forest dwelling spiders succumbed to the water and died within a 24 hour period. But the 2 species from the salt marshes took a bit longer, 28 hours for the Pardosa purbeckensis and 36 hours for the Arctosa fulvolineata species.
Seeing how all the spiders appeared to be dead, they were left out to dry so they could be weighed in at a later time. If you’re following along here then you’re probably already prepared for what happened next!
Are They Really Zombies or Just Sleeping
So after the scientists had taken their short break while the spiders dried out, they came back to discover all the spiders back on all eight legs stumbling around like zombies. Can you imagine how freaked out you would be to see this, I certainly can…
Apparently the spiders had gone into some sort of coma like state once submerged in the water. Interestingly enough, the spiders that took longer to slip into their “coma” also took longer to revive, or become zombies that is…lol
According to their research of the spiders in the wild it’s been discovered that the Arctosa fulvolineata marsh dwelling species generally does not avoid flooding in their natural habitat, but the Pardosa purbeckensis spiders will seek refuge by climbing up onto plants or trees.
They speculate that the spiders are able to shut down most of their bodies functions that require them to have air, so this causes them to basically slip into a coma until conditions are dry again.
Have You Ever Seen a Zombie Spider?
Tell me what you think about this bizarre phenomena, just think, if there are zombie spiders, kind of makes you wonder what other species of insect or animal may have zombies in hiding as well…
Aaaack! Creepy crawly! I hate spiders.
Yep, I agree with you on that one Mike. Spiders are probably my worst nightmare as far as fears go. It’s because they are normally small and can get on you and you can’t find them. It’s when they disappear from sight that I really get the heebie jeebies!
I found a dead spider in my pool’s skimmer basket. I put it in a jar and it was dead the rest of that day. The next morning it was alive. The lid doesn’t fit correctly so it’s getting some air. But still, super creepy to me.
Wow Mona! This would definitely freak me out to say the least.
I am no fan of spiders in the first place, but to have one come back to life on me would top the cake. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
this is a freaky topic … but I experienced it today. I was at an indoor lap pool today and noticed a dead spider floating along the bottom. After a few more laps, at least 5 min, I decided to get it out. I picked up a small towel and grabbed it underwater. I balled the towel up and left it on the deck. 30 min later, I decided to get rid of it. To my surprise, no spider in the towel. Looking around, I saw it perfectly alive crawling on a stool a foot away. Needless to say, the spider is no longer with us And I will never assume a spider in the water is dead.
Nothing worse than a missing spider Jon! I tell you, those things are sneaky and I will never trust them. Where I’m from spiders are quite abundant during the summer months and I carry a can of spray with me like it was a pistol lol.
But you did the right thing Jon. Even though I’ll probably get some flak for saying this….Thanks for ridding us of one more of these creepy creatures! 😀