Arthropods now possibly able to employ Archimedes Death Ray

September 23, 2016 8:34 AM

So-called 'mirror spiders' can "manipulate the mirrors in situations where they might feel threatened."
posted by Drosera (26 comments total)

Disco spiders!
But seriously, this is way cool. Are they changing the size of their mirror bits or just expanding and contracting the skin between the mirrors?
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:38 AM on September 23, 2016

THIS IS AWESOME
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:39 AM on September 23, 2016 [2 favorites]

What ARE those mirrors? Is there sort of dietary supplement I can take so that I can have them too?
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 8:40 AM on September 23, 2016 [10 favorites]

LobsterMitten, looks like they are just kind of deflating their abdomen a bit, or contracting the skin so that the mirror 'plates' cluster together. When you have no bones, anything goes.
posted by Drosera at 8:40 AM on September 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

Scientists have attempted to measure self-awareness in these spiders with the mirror test, but the resulting chain reflection of infinite spiders was just too weird. [fake]
posted by Rangi at 8:41 AM on September 23, 2016 [9 favorites]

OONTZ
posted by Kabanos at 8:43 AM on September 23, 2016 [13 favorites]

So this made me wonder, how can they be expanding and contracting their abdomen, don't spiders have carapaces or exoskeletons or something inelastic on the outside?

If I'm understanding this right, apparently yes, they do have hard exoskeletons, and thus have to molt as they grow... and when they molt and generate a new exoskeleton, they pump up the size of their body parts (by transferring fluids around, or taking in air) as each part of the shell hardens so that it hardens with room for them to grow on the inside of it! It also uses fluid pumping to break the old exoskeleton when it's time to exit, and then in the new exoskeleton (which starts off too big for it) it "commonly appears somewhat wrinkled".

I don't think that quite explains the enlarge-and-shrink that seems to be happening with the mirror spiders, but it's interesting anyway, and maybe a start.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:53 AM on September 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

This is AMAZING.

(Sparklemuffin is still my favorite spider, though.)
posted by rtha at 8:56 AM on September 23, 2016 [2 favorites]

OK, have any scientists gotten serious about this? Who's working on adding fireflies to their habitat (presumably black-lit dorm rooms) and studying responses to rhythmic disturbances? Science!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:59 AM on September 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

For many insects, they do have more rigid carapaces, especially among beetles, where they have specialized and hardened forewings called elytra (the pretty parts of a ladybug, for example) that encase and protect a good portion of their abdomens.

Spiders, as a taxa, are more soft in general, like you would hardly see a pinned spider (that wasn't a tarantula) in a museum collection. There isn't much tougher tissue on them the dry out properly.
posted by Drosera at 9:01 AM on September 23, 2016 [2 favorites]

So it's basically like a cat puffing up to make itself seem larger?

I am disappoint. Was hoping for spider army.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 9:37 AM on September 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

I went to brush my teeth one bleary-eyed morning, felt something softer as I picked up my toothbrush than the ridiculous comfort-grip handle had any right to be, and when I raised it close enough to my extremely near-sighted eyes that I could see, it turned out I was pinning the abdomen of quite a large spider to the handle of my toothbrush with a forefinger. I dropped the toothbrush and the spider scurried off to some cranny of the bathroom -- so I can confirm that at least the spiders around my house are indeed pretty soft.

(You better have consumed many, many times your body weight in annoying insects to make up for the start you gave me, pal.)
posted by jamjam at 9:37 AM on September 23, 2016 [9 favorites]

Easily defeated with some lift plates and superconducting thread.
posted by ftm at 10:33 AM on September 23, 2016 [2 favorites]

I clicked on the link thinking it was some Fallen London thing, but it is real spiders, oh no.
posted by betweenthebars at 11:10 AM on September 23, 2016

Between their chrome plating and their webs, these guys are sort of the Liberaces of the arthropod world. They are fascinating and I had no idea such a thing existed. Great post!
posted by TedW at 11:17 AM on September 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

Judging from the (excellent) animated gifs, I don't get the impression that this motion is "plates moving closer together." The "plates'" perimeter seems to expand and contract, like chromatophores in other species. I wonder if this is an example of iridophores/leucophores? You sometimes see these iridescent/reflective patches on butterfly chrysalises--I wonder if those are the same mechanism?
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 11:36 AM on September 23, 2016 [3 favorites]

I think it makes them able to appear like a water droplet.
posted by Oyéah at 12:33 PM on September 23, 2016 [4 favorites]

Great idea!
posted by sneebler at 12:37 PM on September 23, 2016

This is ominous. Apparently the mirrors are camouflage for the coming uprising.

"Zoo" is a documentary.
posted by malthusan at 12:44 PM on September 23, 2016

Is there sort of dietary supplement I can take so that I can have them too?

Some have tried; results are unsatisfactory.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:10 PM on September 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

Between their chrome plating and their webs, these guys are sort of the Liberaces of the arthropod world. They are fascinating and I had no idea such a thing existed. Great post!

'Oh, I wish my brother X'th'r'ac were here'
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 1:18 PM on September 23, 2016

Warning -- horrible, terrifying lies in the links to other articles:

This Microscopic View of a Spider Embryo is Strangely Adorable

posted by straight at 4:06 PM on September 23, 2016

Spiders are soft like caterpillars. Caterpillars have an exoskeleton too, and also have to molt several times in order to get big enough to become a beautiful moth. "Non-sclerotized" exoskeleton/cuticle is very stretchy. Not stretchy enough to accomodate the kind of growth arthropods really need to do over the course of their lifetimes, so they gotta molt to get really bigger.

late afternoon dreaming hotel, I was looking at the same thing and thinking about how it might work. I don't think that those are "plates" at all, I bet they're thinning their cuticle in spots and that changes the depth of some iridophores; structural coloration.
posted by Made of Star Stuff at 4:11 PM on September 23, 2016 [3 favorites]

Is this the next boss I need to fight in Bloodborne?
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 7:04 PM on September 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

De-hy-drate . . .
posted by Valued Customer at 8:08 PM on September 24, 2016

I had no idea these even existed, how cool! So intricate and pretty...
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 11:53 PM on September 24, 2016