Parental care in the animal world is often viewed through the lens of sacrifice– but in a few species, that sacrifice goes far beyond what most would expect. While many animals protect and raise their ...

Spiders are typically thought of as solitary creatures that don’t partake in social pleasantries unless it has something to do with mating. But as new research shows, the African velvet spider is an ...

Matriphagy is a type of animal behavior where the young eat their own mother. It is the ultimate display of maternal martyrdom and takes motherly love to the highest level. You can see it in action in ...

Raising offspring is expensive. It costs you time, it costs you money, and for some species: it costs you your life. This is the grisly fate of the African social spider, Stegodyphus dumicola, a ...

Nature reveals a stark reality: some mothers become their offspring's final meal. From black lace weaver spiders offering unfertilized eggs before being consumed, to desert spiders liquefying their ...

Motherhood is no bed of roses, and for some female spiders it is quite deadly. After these young velvet spiders hatch, their mum patiently regurgitates food to feed them, making sure they get all the ...