Do Spiders freeze then thaw in cold weather?

[tuckmeister]

I remember when I was a child on my paper round in the depths of winter seeing Spiders sat patiently in the middle of there frozen frost covered web's. Surely they must freeze as are cold blooded, have they mastered cryogenic's?

[ron1863]

I think some insect and spiders can be frozen and thawed out with no apparant ill effects, but not too sure.

[Meta menardi]

Clever little things are full of antifreeze. Search for spider antifreeze on the net, and there it will be. Imagine fitting them with socks!

[Dogghound]

It would kill a spider if it was froze, if the temperature drops to much they seek shelter in a hole or under a leaf were there is less exposure and more warmth. Some insects like weta's can be froze and survive.

[Jim Ford]

The New Zealand Wetas can survive being frozen solid:

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Jim

[squishy]

i know for a fact that some crickets can do that, so it wouldn't surprise me if spiders can

[Kayleigh]

I think some Toads in Scotland freeze then thaw out..
Correct if I'm wrong but it was on an Attenbourough program

Don't know about spiders though interesting about the anti freeze..
Don't tell the Germans they will be putting them in wine..

[Paul mabbott]

There might be a problem of definitions here. Most organisms when properly frozen (i.e. their internal body temperature falls below the freezing point of their tissues) will die because the crystallisation of body fluids will destroy the tissues.
The critical point here is 'freezing point of their tissues'. Just because the air temperature is below 0C doesn't mean that the animals are (even when they're 'warm-blooded' vertebrates like us) - they can poduce internal heat, absorb tiny quantities of radiation, huddle together to conserve heat, even, as mentioned, produce 'anti-freeze' compounds to stop their fluids freezing. I know nothng about spiders' survival rates but certainly many beetles can survive ambient temperatures well below freezing for considerable periods of time. Some insects are adapted to arctic temperatures and can even remain active below 0C.