How Long Do Spiders Live – (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 2-3 years

Spiders exist in over 650 species, all with different life spans. A large number of spiders live outside, but there are a few that live indoors.

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You are more likely to find spiders crawling around your house during autumn or summer. The two seasons provide a favorable breeding environment. Most spiders also hatch their eggs during this period. In winter, they become dormant since most spiders can’t survive the harsh climate. Spiders are of importance in any household since they help get rid of bugs and other insects.

How Long Do Spiders Live

How Long Do Spiders Live?

Even though the estimated lifespan of a spider is 2-3 years, the female spider extends its lifetime to thirty years or more. Male spiders die earlier due to consumption by the female spider after mating or effects of the mating process.

Spiders lay eggs in sacs containing up to a thousand eggs. The hatching period of spider varies depending on the environmental conditions. In favorable climates, the spiders will hatch within a few weeks while in harsh conditions, they take a more extended period than intended.

Since spiders don’t take care of their young ones, once they hatch, they migrate, looking for a suitable climate to habituate.

Spiders live independently, making it easier for them to obtain food. They mainly get food by waiting patiently in their webs for insects to get trapped. Since it may take long to tarp an insect, most spiders are known to stay for long periods without any food reserves.

Spiders live for up to two years with the female spider living longer than the male spider. As mentioned earlier, there are both outdoor spiders and indoor spiders. Indoor spiders, having a longer lifespan than outdoor spiders since they get exposed to fewer threats.

SpiderYears
Male Spider (Indoors)4-8 weeks
Male Spider (Outdoors)
2-3 years
Female Spider (Indoors)
1 year
Female Spider (Outdoors)
upto 10-20 years
Spider lifetime without food2-3 weeks

Why Do Spiders Live Average 2-3 Years?

Several factors affect a spider’s lifetime; these include climate, predators, and many more that we will look at below.

Predators

Spiders have a large number of predators, including human beings. People from Asia are commonly known for their consumption of spiders.

Other than human beings, wasps and flies also feed on spiders. They attack the spider by paralyzing them and later on laying their eggs on the paralyzed spider. The insect’s larvae slowly feed on the spider until the nutrients are entirely sourced out.

Health conditions

Like humans, spiders get attacked by infections and diseases. The Mermithid nematode worms are the most common parasites that attack spiders. They feed on their internal organs wearying them out, and with time they may die.

Climatic conditions

Some spider species are known to survive the harsh climate, and some species die during such conditions. The surviving species do so by going into an inactive state awaiting the unfavorable conditions to pass. The non-surviving species cannot become dormant; therefore, they slowly die out.

References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=091bSugQjpoC&oi=fnd&pg=PA4&dq=How+Long+Do+Spiders+Live&ots=I9NDAnDkJp&sig=nrgI7TBhZRlXnb276swbLueHx48
  2. https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article-abstract/12/3/134/5814073
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