Tarantulas are known to have special hair growth. It was not known, however, that this was related to their protection from an unexpected enemy, as new research finds, according to LiveScience.

This enemy is none other than the army of ants who are “responsible” as another housekeeper for the cleanliness of the tarantula spider’s cave. According to this new research, it is possible that these ants will eat the tarantula alive.

Specifically, the research, published Aug. 6 in the Journal of Natural History, reports new versions of the tarantula’s relationships with other species, including its generally passive but sometimes violent interaction with predator ants.

Ants devour spiders

Ant-predators are known for hunting down and devouring spiders alive, but when foraging in tarantula burrows in South America, scientists noticed they were fasting. On the rare occasion that the ants attempted to attack the tarantulas, their stiff hairs immediately repelled them.

“The dense hairs covering the tarantula’s body make it difficult for ants to bite or sting the spider,” said study lead author Alireza Zamani, an arachnologist at the University of Turku in Finland. “Therefore, we believe that the hairy surface of the tarantula may have evolved as a defense mechanism.”

Why are predator ants necessary for tarantulas?

As mentioned above, these ants are responsible for the cleanliness of the tarantula’s nest. Specifically, they clean it of food residues. Thus, the tarantula cannot avoid them, to protect itself, yet it places its eggs inside its hairs, so that they are not eaten by the ants.