You’re Not Crazy, Spiders are Afraid of Spiders, too.
Spooky season is upon us. But, we’re not the only ones running scared of those eight-legged creeps. Scientists have found that spiders are scared of spiders, too! The British Ecological Society put spiders in front of other spiders and, just like your grandma or little sister’s reaction, the spiders jumped or ran away - HAH - I told you I wasn’t overreacting!
The study placed jumping spiders near objects which could pose as potential threats to them, from a plain black 3D-priknted sphere to more lifelike objects like a dead specimen of a larger spider. The giant black orb - no problem for our creepy, crawly friends. Many of them scurried towards it and climbed on top to conquer this giant hunk of not-scary-nothing. The spiders grew increasingly more wary as the objects became more lifelike, especially with the introduction of eyes and legs. Once face-to-face with itself, but in larger form, the spiders lost their bone of fearlessness. One spider froze completely then backed away slowly - a favorite approach of all terrified people upon encountering a hairy arachnid. Another spider nonchalantly approached, probably daydreaming about taking over my shower again, then quickly realized the potential threat of the spider that stood before him and jumped up, running away as fast as those little legs could carry him. Turns out that the arachnophobia you’ve been nurturing since childhood isn’t all in your head, nor something to be embarrassed of! In fact, you have something in common with what you fear - you’re both scared of spiders! Don’t worry, little guy, we’ve all struggled with our own reflections.
