Arachnids are known to be tender towards one another. In fact, emotional spiders are a downright rarity. The Whip spiders, those scary looking creepy-crawlies are not as anti-social as people originally thought. A Cornell researcher, with the use of binocular zoom stereomicroscopes, was able to visualize the affection that is shared by the two species of the whip spiders. These spiders get their name from the two long pedipalps that are used to capture their prey, and can be described as whips. The first two legs of the spider are about three to four times longer than the other legs. These ‘whips’ are extremely flexible, moving as much as 360 degrees around their bodies and to sense the environment around them.

As the researcher explains, the whip spiders were observed ‘hanging out’ in social groups, which is a behavior very uncommon in the class of arachnids, which include not only spiders but also amblypygids, mites and scorpions. Imagine this – only about 0.1 percent of arachnid species are known to live in social groups. The discovery of the whip spiders and their unusual and warm behavior has been published in the Natural History Magazine, as well as the Journal of Arachnology.

Researchers are astounded by this behavior. Linda Rayor, one of the lead authors of the study, points out that whip spider mothers constantly stroke their baby spiders with their long, whip-like legs, as seen through binocular zoom stereomicroscopes. Also visible with the binocular zoom stereomicroscopes are the groups or clusters that the siblings form. In these groups, the siblings were observed to be in constant interaction with each other. These findings are quite surprising, since the whip spiders are usually known for their aggressive nature, especially in courting rituals. One of the reasons that this friendly behaviors of the young whip spiders were missed could be due to the fact that their coloring make them blend quite easily with their backgrounds, and without the help of a microscope of other special equipment, scientists did not notice the behaviors right away.

The research explored the two species of whip spiders, mainly the Phrynus marginemaculatus and the larger Damon diadema. The findings were similar, in which both species have mothers and siblings that form long-lasting social groups. But as soon as the siblings reach a certain age of maturity, they begin to exhibit aggressive behaviors.

One of the experiments conducted by the researchers was to separate the siblings and spread them over an unfamiliar and wide area. The siblings were able to find each other and once again form a group within minutes of being separated. Rayor believes there is a reason for this clustering. Whip spiders may group together to promote safety. While the siblings formed a cluster, the mother whip spider protects them. In the experiment, Rayor noted that from time to time the mother ship spider acted aggressive toward the researchers. Adolescent whip spiders had the tendency to scurry and hide while threatened. When sexual maturity is reached, the aggressive and fighting behaviors are exhibited for courtship and mating. Read more on this subject