All insects are modified to survive in their habitat; however, they have to adapt to a new one quickly. For instance, the spider is typically a crawling insect, but it may have hidden abilities that can help it survive in water.
So, do spiders swim in water? Most spiders use their legs and weight distribution to float and move on the water surface, a motion that looks like swimming. Some aquatic spiders like the diving bell are the only spider species known to be great swimmers, spending most of their lives in the water.
Using trapped air and occasionally resurfacing, they can easily remain underwater for up to twenty-four hours. Other species like the tarantula are also capable of swimming, but they prefer to live on land.
The coming sections will discuss the spider and its ability to adapt to new environments. You will then discover the capability of different spider species to swim or survive underwater. Read on to help you understand more about the spider.
Spiders are one of the most intelligent insects; they are able to do anything to survive even in unfamiliar territory. Due to such innate abilities, it’s no wonder they have faced extinction and survived. You will realize that some spider species can swim and even live underwater.
Spiders can float while distributing their weight on the water surface. Therefore, they can walk fast on water using their legs as propellers. It is easy for them to move in water, even though they do not possess modified organs like fins or tails to help them swim properly. Similarly, they are intelligent creatures, able to cling to other objects as support when in the water. As long as the water is still, trust that the spider will move safely from one point to another.
The ability to swim varies depending on the spider’s species. You may find tarantulas floating on the surface of large water bodies. Using just their legs, they can paddle on the surface as they try to distribute their weight. However, the water is not their forte, unlike other spiders, and they may only do it as a last resort or when they need to get across to the other side.
There are other better swimmers than the tarantulas, known as diving spiders or dolomedes. They mostly live in North America, and you are likely to spot them on top of docks or rafts. Interestingly, they spend a lot of time in the water and can easily use their legs to swim.
They spread their limbs and propel themselves to swim, like humans. Another type of spider adapted to swimming is the Brisbane spider, from the dolomedes family. It is giant, quite scary, and a great hunter, able to dive into the water and hunt for small fish and other water creatures.
Among all the spiders mentioned above, the best swimmer is the diving bell, found in Europe and some parts of Asia. It mostly lives in the freshwater and can stay submerged for long, coming up briefly for air. It stores air pockets between its hairs and sometimes uses the air bubbles in water as an oxygen source. Its diet mainly consists of other tiny aquatic insects, and it helps that it is quite a skilled hunter.
How Do Spiders Swim?
The best swimmers are the Diving Spiders, which are aquatic insects. You can spot them cruising on the surface and occasionally diving. Others like the Brisbane spiders are great divers, swimmers, and hunters. They can grab an insect with a pair of limbs and swim with the remaining ones. In contrast, other spider species like the Funnel-Web and tarantula can swim but are not as good.
Their movement in water is uncoordinated, and they struggle to stay afloat. They rely on weight distribution and their legs’ strength to move on the surface when the water is still, but if unsettled, the water may overpower and submerge them. If the spider is not a prolific swimmer, it will try to distribute its weight and kick its limbs to try to navigate.
Spiders use their limbs for swimming, whether they are aquatic or not. By swiftly moving their limbs, they can quickly propel their bodies across the water. While some are incredible swimmers, others may try a little harder not to submerge. Hence, the ability to swim primarily depends on the spider’s species.
Since most spider species are tiny insects, they can use physics laws to stay on top of the water. By leveling their weight, they will try not to break the water’s surface tension because otherwise, they will go down. Similarly, if it gets too hectic to swim, they can hold on to objects on the water surface and use them to move or stay afloat. Either way, the spider is an intelligent creature, able to find a way to survive even if the water is not its territory.
Can You Drown a Spider?
Aquatic spiders have no problem spending most of their lives in water, but other species would rather live on land and only get on water if they have to. The concern is what happens when the latter submerges. Will they still survive?
You can drown a spider, but it will take some time. Whether they adapt to the water or not, all spiders have a low metabolism, enabling them to live for up to an hour without requiring oxygen replenishment. Therefore, it is not easy for you to drown a spider; it is possible, but it’s a slow process. They may stay alive for up to three hours, depending on the species in question.
It is even more challenging when the spider involved is aquatic. For instance, the water spider can live for long while submerged (approximately twenty-four hours). They can survive underwater using webs to facilitate gaseous exchange and take advantage of water bubbles for more oxygen. Thus, it is hard to drown them unless you wash them down the drain.
If the spider is a nuisance, some homeowners opt to smashing or flushing them down the drain. Smashing is quicker, and the spider will die instantly. If you flush them down using a lot of water that drains to a sewer system, the chances of them surviving are minimal since they don’t have the strength to swim back to the surface. Moreover, they hate the cold; hence, if you place one under freezing temperatures, it is likely to die.
Can Spiders Live Underwater?
You have noticed that some spider species are great swimmers and can even survive underwater. Does it mean that they can live underwater?
Spiders cannot live underwater as they need to breathe oxygen from the air. Some spiders like the water spider (diving bell spider), can survive underwater for long periods by using aquatic plants to suspend webs to trap air like bubbles and use these as oxygen sources. Experts say that the spider can stay for up to twenty-four hours submerged in the water using only these air bubbles to breathe and occasionally resurfacing if the supply runs out.
This ability enables the water spider (diving bell spider) to avoid predators and helps it hide from unsuspecting prey. They are famous for spending a large part of their lives in water as they do all their activities there, including hunting and egg-laying.
This behavior is different from what we see among other aquatic animals. The spider doesn’t have gills or other organs to help it breathe when submerged. Instead, the diving bell traps air pockets, takes them under the water, and uses the bubbles to “breathe.”
Without these air bubbles, the spider will have to resurface for more oxygen. Otherwise, they frequently and sparingly use the bubble for oxygen supply; thus, they can stay underwater for a whole day. Unless they use these tricks, we cannot say that the spider can breathe underwater or even survive while submerged.
Can House Spiders Swim?
You must have encountered a house spider since it is easy to spot them in most places. However, are they good swimmers like the diving bell?
The house spider is not a great swimmer, but it may make a clumsy effort to avoid drowning. It may only be successful when trying to swim across still waters. It uses its legs to run across the surface as long as it doesn’t break the surface tension. Given it’s lightweight, it’s easy for it to float and use its limbs to kick the water as it moves forward.
However, the fete may be tasking if the water isn’t still. If you wash it away at the sink or shower, it may not come back up. It may take a while for them to drown since they will run out of oxygen in the drainage system.
Final Word
Some spider species like the diving bell are great swimmers who can survive for long hours in the water environment, even when submerged. On the other hand, others are quite clumsy, only relying on their weight and holding on to objects on the surface.
Surprisingly, even the spiders with swimming difficulties can still survive for a few hours underwater, thanks to their low metabolism and slow oxygen intake. Getting rid of spiders by drowning them will prove problematic unless you flush them down a sewer. Most may not be great swimmers, but they will still try by all means to stay afloat.
