How can spiders go so long without food (weeks) when their body is so small? Where do they store all their energy?

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How can spiders go so long without food (weeks) when their body is so small? Where do they store all their energy?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

It has less to do with body size and more with an extremely efficient metabolism.

A big reason for that efficiency is that they are cold-blooded. Cold-blooded animals, in general, can go a pretty long time without eating — think about snakes, for example.

It takes _a lot_ of energy for your body to generate heat, so animals that don’t generate their own heat get a lot more “bang for their buck” out of food.

In fact, many cold-blooded animals will intentionally keep their body temperature extremely low in periods where they don’t have much to eat. On the flip side, they’ll bask in the sun to help digest a big meal.

Spiders in particular are quite good at managing their own metabolisms. If they don’t have much to eat, they don’t expend much energy.

And many cold-blooded animals, including spiders, have their own form of hibernation. In spiders it’s called a diapause phase. This allows them to wait out the cold months by expending practically no energy at all!

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