Peacock spiders, dance for your life! - BBC

this male peacock spider is the size of a grain of rice he's perfectly at home in a lawn that resembles his natural grassland [Music] he has superb eyesight which helps in his search for a mate [Music] and there she is a female peacock spider to invite her to mate he will produce a series of vibrations known scientifically as Rumble Rumble sensing his movements through her legs the female demands a suitor who can produce soothing even vibrations anything muddled or intermittent is unacceptable but the pandemonium created by humans can make sensing vibrations very difficult [Music] fortunately he has another tactic he can employ to divert her attention from all else in the garden eyes locked the enchantment begins [Music] she appraises the dance in all its colorful splendor as his routine becomes increasingly vigorous [Music] but her head is easily turned a rival suitor muscles in two tries luck she strikes in less than a tenth of a second and injects a lethal dose of venom into his brain the rival is now not a mate but a meal [Music] [Music] and to turn a suitor once more steps into the line of fire [Music] he must mesmerize or die at touching distance he gears up for the final flourish just one mistake now will cost him his life while his front legs rotate her abdomen into position he gathers his sperm and passes it into her reproductive organs so simple quirks of nature allow him to thrive in this suburban environment he can either tap dance or use his dazzling good looks to overcome disturbance from his noisy neighbors there are over 50 different species of peacock spider each dancing their own routine many in the gardens and green spaces of ostriches cities [Music] you

Channel: BBC

Views: 896,419

Keywords: BBC iPlayer, United Kingdom, British TV, British TV Shows, Watch UK TV Online, Watch British TV Online, Watch British TV Shows Online, nature documentary, nature spider, amazing spider, colourful spider

Id: 5qkzwG2lLPc

Length: 4min 49sec (289 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 21 2019