Charlotte’s Web was Never Like This…

Friday, 15 August 2025

Sometimes, nature isn’t pretty – but it is still fascinating. Some spider species have a way of ensuring that the next generation gets a good start in life. In this particular case, narrated by the ever mellifluous Sir David Attenborough, the mother spider dies shortly after her eggs hatch. Rather than let her go to waste, her spiderlings take advantage of the situation. Drawn towards their mother, whose dying movements mimic the struggle of an insect caught in the web, they proceed to gobble her up without so much as a by your leave. The video below shows the full, gruesome truth, so if you are a little squeamish then perhaps avert your eyes. Ah, too late…

Filmed to become part of the new BBC natural history series Parenthood, this video shows the extraordinary lengths that animal parents will go through in order to secure a future for their offspring. As the title of this post points out, we didn’t see this happen to Charlotte (due to happenstance, perhaps, but still it puts Joy, Aranea and Nellie in a new light…).

Give a Gift

If you enjoyed this article, please consider making a gift to help Ark In Space to continue to bring you fascinating features, photographs and videos.
Thank you!

The page cannot be found