Mother Spider Makes Ultimate Sacrifice for Her Young

Mother’s Day was a few days ago, so it seems like the perfect time to learn more about the Stegodyphus lineatus spider, which lives in Israel’s Negev Desert, according to Wired. In the spring, the female species builds her web in bushes, where she awaits the hatching of her eggs. When she opens her egg sac, which may contain 80 or more eggs, she stops eating. Instead, her intestines and other organs dissolve to provide food for her young, the report says. The offspring then finish her off by climbing on top of her and sucking out any food that remains in her abdomen. Explains Israel Cohen Institute for Biological Control Biologist Mor Salomon, “When they finish her, you can see only a hollow exoskeleton. You see the abdomen is shrunken, like a balloon whose air came out.” You can view the fascinating photos here.