14 DAY TRIAL // It turns out the itsy bitsy spider that climbed up the water spout was probably a fierce individual with a devil-may-care take on life. And that none of its friends accompanied on its journey because they were a tad too shy to embark on such an adventure.
Daily Mail tells us that, according to evidence presented by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, spiders have distinct personalities.
Thus, some tend to be fairly aggressive, whereas others are timid and docile, and prefer to keep to themselves.
Interestingly enough, it appears that a spider's size does not influence its personality. As the researchers explain, big guys can be surprisingly gentle, whereas small ones can sometimes prove quite aggressive.
Age has nothing to do with a spider's personality either, evidence suggests.
The researchers base their claims on data collected while monitoring grass spiders. Unlike other arachnids, these ones live in social groups.
As part of their study into the behavior of grass spiders, the researchers monitored three different colonies: one made up of docile individuals, one composed of aggressive specimens and a mixed one.
It was discovered that, on the short term, the first colony was the one that thrived. On the long term, however, it went extinct due to the fact that it got attacked by invaders and failed to fight back and/or recover from these blows.
The colonies made up at least partly from aggressive individuals were the ones that managed to survive on the long run.