Abstract
Spider-Man gets his special powers from a spider bite. Real spider males do not have special powers, but they do have a specialized organ that female spiders do not have. It is called the bulbus organ, and it is needed for mating and thus really important. It is fascinating that the bulbus organ is absent in young spiders and has to develop inside of tiny appendages on the front of the spider, called pedipalps. The way organs develop inside already functioning body parts has puzzled researchers for years. Recently, scientists have found that the bulbus organ develops from a small set of cells, which are present early during the spider’s development. Interestingly, during the development of the bulbus organ, other structures in the pedipalp are totally rebuilt from a mysterious material. Such processes usually only occur during metamorphosis in insects. This is the first example of a metamorphosis-like process happening in a species that does not have metamorphosis. So, maybe spiders have special powers after all!
Highlights
AGE: Spider-Man gets his special powers from a spider bite
It is fascinating that the bulbus organ is absent in young spiders and has to develop inside of tiny appendages on the front of the spider, called pedipalps
Even though male and female spiders are both born with pedipalps, only the males form the bulbus organs as they become adults
Summary
Special organ on the male spiders pedipalp used to transfer the semen during mating. Spiders are fascinating because of their unique features, like the strong and elastic silk used to build complicated and beautiful webs, the production of venom, and their various advanced hunting and mating strategies. These features and skills di er between male and female spiders. Females can be a di erent color than the males of their species, but this is not true for all species You can use another really safe trick to identify a male spider. The bulbus organ plays an essential role in spiders, because it ensures the production of o spring
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