The good news for people around the world who are scared of spiders is that there are many predators who eat them.From small insects to large animals, small spiders have many predators and enemies. Interestingly, sometimes even cats prefer to eat spiders rather than their regular food and are often found hunting them.Spiders are found throughout the world. Some people even eat them too, like in Cambodia. When people are not eating them, they are often found disturbing their web for fun. Even if something bigger is not trying to eat them, spiders tend to run away in fear.If you enjoy reading this article, be sure to check out some more fun facts with Kidadl next. You may also want to learn all about what eats snakes? And how many legs do spiders have? Right here on Kidadl!What eats spiders in the food chain?Bugs like spider wasps, centipedes, and scorpions kill spiders and feed on them. Spiders are vulnerable due to their small size. Spiders avoid people, small insects, and large animals, as they are scared of being eaten or being crushed. Many insects and animals, such as the tarantula hawk, insectivorous birds, frogs, toads, fish, lizards, and monkeys, prey on spiders as they are easy to hunt and catch.On well-known spider is the Huntsman spider; as the name suggests, these spiders are known to hunt for their meal. However, despite their hunting ability, they have predators like spider wasps, geckos, nematode worms, toads, egg parasites of wasps, and flies.One of the weaknesses of spiders is their small size, so small and large creatures alike can eat spiders. In food chains or food webs, plants make their food from sunlight. These plants are then eaten by herbivorous animals, which insectivorous or predatory animals eat. Spiders love to eat insects like flies, mosquitoes, fleas, cockroaches, earwigs, moths, ants, and other animals. Amphibians, reptiles, insectivorous birds, and so on eat spiders in the food chain.The many mammals which eat spiders include shrews and bats. One fascinating fact is that monkeys eat spiders as well; they don’t eat them as their primary food source but as a snack. Even amphibians like toads and frogs prefer hunting spiders. They can quickly kill and eat them. Scorpions, centipedes, and spider wasp species eat spiders as well. Spider wasp species such as Tarantula hawks, popularly known as Spider wasps, are known for hunting spiders. The spider is paralyzed with its sting, and, after that, it lays eggs inside the abdomen. The larvae or young emerges and feeds on the spider from the inside out. Several species of spiders feed on other spiders too. The Black widow spider consumes other spiders. The female Redback species and Orb-web spiders, after mating, eat the male spider to gain its nutrients.Interestingly, even household pets like cats, birds, frogs, lizards, and hedgehogs may help you control spiders, as they eat them.Did you know even humans eat spiders? In some countries like Cambodia, people are known to eat spiders. Fried tarantulas are, in fact, a delicacy in Cambodia. People in some countries even add live spiders into medicinal rice wine.What eats spiders in the rain forest?Since spiders are small creatures, they are very vulnerable. Ticks are found to attach themselves to spiders and keep on eating them slowly over a long period of time.In the rain forest, the spiders are eaten by birds like robins and wrens. Many other small birds and big birds living in the rain forest also prey on them. Spiders are vulnerable to bird attacks from above. Reptiles like geckos, chameleons, and the common lizards’ diet include spiders. Lizards can control the Orb spider population. As the name suggests, Orb spiders are weaving spiders. A spider’s worst enemy is the Spider wasp, or Tarantula hawks. They prey on spiders by attracting the spider’s attention through knocking on the spider’s webs. The wasp drags the spider to its burrow to feed its young. The spider is then paralyzed with its sting.Some species of monkeys have a diet that includes spiders, not as a full-time meal, but as a snack. Some spider species eat other spiders, for example, Black widow spiders, Daddy-long leg spiders, and Hobo spiders. Centipedes are many-legged arthropods. They are carnivorous and use their claws or legs to paralyze other creatures, including spiders, and consume them. Even scorpions living in the rain forest are found to eat spiders as a meal.Which spider eats other spiders?It is interesting to know that the diet of spiders includes other small insects and animals, but some spiders prey on other spiders. Surprising right? Let’s find out about the spiders which feed on other spiders.Wolf spiders eat female pholcid even when they have an egg sac. Wolf spiders prey on ground spiders and Orb-weaving spiders as well. Sizable female jumping spiders eat tiny zebra jumping spiders. Cellar spiders eat giant spiders by wrapping them with their silk before eating them.Cellar spiders are good at capturing insects and other spiders, using their webs to trick them by vibrating the silk lines on their webs. Cellar spiders’ long legs help them to keep themselves safe.What eats spiders in houses?Most people don’t like seeing spiders near or in their houses. Some are happy to catch hold of these insects and release them outside. In a clean house, you can find spiders either in the basement or garage.So, the question is, if they are found in a house, who eats them? Small and large insects, lizards, geckos, chameleons, and domestic pets like birds and cats prey on spiders. These creatures can control the spider population. Lizards and geckos can quickly reduce the population of spiders by eating them.A Spider’s Defense Mechanism Against PredatorsAlthough some spiders are tiny in size, they can defend themselves against predators. Spiders are known to eat whatever flies into their web. There are around 40,000 species of spiders, and only a few of them are dangerous to humans.Spiders’ legs can quickly help them run away and hide if they feel threatened by birds, lizards, amphibians, and mammals. The spiders belonging to the families Mesothelae, Uloboridae, and Holarchaeidae are very venomous. These spiders have fangs and, if they bite you, their venom will be injected into your body. An example of a spider with fangs is a widow spider.Most spiders don’t have enough venom or fangs to kill humans, but, if they bite a bird or a lizard, the venom injected is sure to cause pain and even death. For humans, even the ones with more prominent fangs won’t cause any severe problems but could cause extreme pain. The venom of some spiders is also known to cause allergic reactions, as the venom reaches the victim’s nervous system and causes the skin to become necrotic.Most spiders are colored in such a way that they are easily able to blend in with their surroundings. Usually, the body color of spiders is black, brown, or grey, which can easily blend with trees, rocks, and dirt. For example, Black widow spiders are black, which camouflages easily with the environment.Some spiders also have clever ways to defend themselves. Tarantula spiders have urticating hairs on their belly; these hairs are known to have barbs which can cause severe pain and irritation. Even more dangerous is the fact that they can shoot these hairs in their victim’s eyes, making them blind for some time, which gives them enough time to run away.What are the predators of the wolf spider?Wolf spiders are found on many continents. They are large and hairy, belonging to the family Lycosidae. They prey on cockroaches, beetles, ants, crickets, grasshoppers, amphibians, reptiles, and other spiders. However, even they have many predators who prey on them.Birds have several different eating habits. Some are seed and plant-eaters, while others are insectivorous. For example, elf owls and screech owls are predators of wolf spiders and other small mammals.Spider wasps paralyze spiders with their sting and, after that, inject their eggs into the spider. The larvae or the young wasps feed on the spider inside and eventually grow out. Amphibians like frogs, salamanders, and toads feed on Wolf spiders. Shrews and coyotes are insectivorous and feed on wolf spiders too.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our fun facts about what eats spiders then why not take a look at how many eyes do spiders have? Or False Wolf Spider Facts.
The good news for people around the world who are scared of spiders is that there are many predators who eat them.
