08/25/2026
For most people, a spider is just a fleeting nuisance. But for a team of researchers in Western Australia, Number 16 was a long‑term study subject—and a record‑breaker.
First recorded in 1974, she was a trapdoor spider living in the same burrow year after year. Researchers kept tabs on her for 42 years, observing her habits, her diet, and her quiet survival in a harsh environment. She outlived every other spider in the study.
In 2016, they found her burrow open and empty, with signs of a parasitic wasp attack. Her long life had ended. But she had lived to be 43—the oldest spider ever recorded.
A creature most people fear, living longer than many of us ever will. 🕷️🕸️💛
