The friendship of tarantulas and small tree frogs: why do spiders protect potential victims

Looking at this strange couple, you involuntarily think about the fact that our smaller brothers are not as primitive creatures as we used to think. The touching friendship of tarantula spiders with tiny frogs can seem completely unbelievable, because spiders are predators and are many times larger than their croaking mates. But it turns out that a frog is much more useful for a spider in a living form than as a lunch snack, and for a frog such a comrade is a defense against enemies, so they are always together.

Tarantulas are quite common on the globe and are found on all continents except Antarctica. Of course, not all species of this family are distinguished by friendship with tiny amphibians, but only those that live in humid conditions. Such examples of symbiosis can be found in Sri Lanka, as well as in the moist forests of South and North America. Local tarantula spiders are very friendly to micro-foxes that live with them side by side and even settle in the same nests.

It turns out that these small amphibians feed on the enemies of spiders. Predatory ants that can penetrate any tiny hole, often steal spider eggs and use them for food. Reliable shelter does not always help, and the spiders themselves, specializing in larger prey, are not able to cope with such tiny enemies. But the micro-frogs, on the contrary, love to feast on ants, for which they won the love of huge spiders. Creepy spiders take care of their little comrades, protect them in every possible way, providing shelter and protecting them from predators. In exchange, frogs guarantee the safety of future offspring, contributing to the prosperity of tarantulas in tropical forests.

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