How Long Do Spiders Last in Water?
WouterSome spiders can live underwater for several hours or even days, while others can stay underwater for as long as 48 hours. This physiology is exceptional for an animal that doesn’t have fins and gills, and it helps explain why spiders are able to swim and survive in water. However, if a spider is in a drowning situation, it will need to spend hours without oxygen before it can come to the surface.
Wolf spiders can survive underwater for up to 40 hours. They must remain under water for this duration to catch prey. Spiders can also stay submerged for up to six or eight hours, but it is important for them to resurface after they catch prey.
Other spider species can survive underwater for several hours or even a few minutes. These spiders can also swim, though they have a slower metabolic rate. Eventually, they will start to die, though, as the dehydration will begin to affect their bodies.
Diving bell spiders are a special family of spiders. They breathe air in a dome-shaped web suspended between aquatic plants. It is believed that the spider extracts oxygen from the water in this way.
The spiders of this group spend only a few minutes at the surface each day. The spiders then go back under the water to collect a new bubble of air. As oxygen levels decrease, the concentration of nitrogen increases in the bubble. After 24 hours, the spider’s silken web collapses, requiring the spider to go to the water’s surface to breathe again.
