# Argyroneta Aquatica (DD-670)

> The diving bell spider, Argyroneta aquatica, is generally described as the only spider that spends almost its whole life underwater. It lives in ponds and slow, plant-filled fresh water across Europe and northern Asia. It spins a silk sheet among water plants and fills it with air to make a 'diving bell'. It carries the air down from the surface as a silvery film trapped by hairs on its abdomen and legs, which is why it looks silver underwater. Inside the bell it rests, eats prey and molts, and females lay their eggs there. In 2011, Roger Seymour and Stefan Hetz reported in the Journal of Experimental Biology that the bell also works as a physical gill. Oxygen dissolved in the water diffuses into the bubble as the spider uses it up. In their measurements, that inflow could meet a resting spider's oxygen needs, even in warm, stagnant water. Nitrogen slowly diffuses out, so the bell shrinks and has to be topped up. The spider can stay down for more than a day rather than surfacing every 20 to 40 minutes, as had been thought. The footage shows the spider underwater, its body coated in a silver air bubble, among water plants.

- Department: Nature (also Science)
- First published: 2025-11-07
- Last updated: 2025-11-07
- Permalink: https://detailenjoyer.com/case/argyroneta-aquatica/
- Author: Marcus Easterling (DetailEnjoyer), The Detail Department

## Quick facts

- **DD-670-F01**: The diving bell works like a physical gill. _(Write-up · Exhibit C (A bubble that breathes))_
- **DD-670-F02**: The spider can stay underwater for more than a day. _(Write-up · Exhibit E (Longer dives))_

## Write-up

A spider with its own air tank. The diving bell spider's silk bubble works like a gill.

1. **An underwater spider**: Argyroneta aquatica lives almost its whole life underwater in European and northern Asian fresh water.
2. **Carrying air down**: It ferries air from the surface as a silvery film held by hairs on its body.
3. **A bubble that breathes**: Oxygen diffuses into the bell from the water, so it works like a physical gill.
4. **Topping up**: Nitrogen slowly diffuses out, so the bell shrinks and has to be refilled.
5. **Longer dives**: The spider can stay down for more than a day rather than surfacing every 20 to 40 minutes.

## Related case files

- [Ant Rafting (DD-662)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/ant-rafting/): Another animal that uses trapped air to survive water
- [Dipping Dipper (DD-040)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/dipping-dipper/): Another animal that hunts underwater
- [A Web of Wonder (DD-294)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/a-web-of-wonder/): I linked another spider's unusual use of silk
- [Microscopic Extremophiles (DD-307)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/microscopic-extremophiles/): I linked another tiny survivor
- [They Don't Age! (DD-322)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/they-dont-age/): I linked another tiny freshwater animal
- [Silk Harvest (DD-583)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/silk-harvest/): I linked another spider that builds its life around silk

## Reel vs. record

- **Note**: 'Traps air bubbles from the surface': more precisely, it carries air down as a silvery film held by the hairs on its abdomen and legs, then releases it into the bell.
- **Missing**: the bell works as a physical gill. Oxygen diffuses in from the water, which a 2011 study found could meet a resting spider's needs.
- **Missing**: nitrogen slowly leaks out, so the bell shrinks and has to be topped up, though the spider can stay down for more than a day.
- **Note**: 'Only known spider that lives almost entirely underwater': this is how it's generally described. Some other spiders dive briefly to hunt or hide, but don't live underwater.
- **Scientific name**: it's written Argyroneta aquatica, with only the genus capitalized and both words in italics.

## Video: Argyroneta Aquatica: A Spider With Its Own Air Tank

- Duration: 17.3 s · Published: 2025-11-07
- File: https://detailenjoyer.com/assets/videos/DQxjG2nETJb.mp4

### Transcript

DID YOU KNOW? The diving bell spider or argyroneta aquatica, is the only known spider that lives almost entirely underwater, relying on a unique silk diving bell to survive. Found in freshwater habitats across Europe and northern Asia, it spins a dome-shaped web between aquatic plants and traps air bubbles from the surface. NOW YOU KNOW!

## Questions & answers

**Q: What is Argyroneta aquatica's common name?**  
A: Named for its silk air bell. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (An underwater spider) · Seymour & Hetz (2011): The diving bell and the spider, the physical gill of Argyroneta aquatica, Journal of Experimental Biology; The New York Times (Jun 14, 2011): The diving bell and the underwater spider)_

**Q: What does the diving bell act like?**  
A: Oxygen diffuses in from the water. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (An underwater spider) · Seymour & Hetz (2011): The diving bell and the spider, the physical gill of Argyroneta aquatica, Journal of Experimental Biology; The New York Times (Jun 14, 2011): The diving bell and the underwater spider)_

**Q: Which gas slowly leaks out of the bell?**  
A: So the bell shrinks over time. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit D (Topping up) · Seymour & Hetz (2011): The diving bell and the spider, the physical gill of Argyroneta aquatica, Journal of Experimental Biology)_

**Q: How long can the spider stay underwater?**  
A: Rather than every 20 to 40 minutes. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Carrying air down) · Seymour & Hetz (2011): The diving bell and the spider, the physical gill of Argyroneta aquatica, Journal of Experimental Biology; Journal of Experimental Biology, Inside JEB (2011): How the water spider uses its diving bell)_

**Q: Where is the diving bell spider found?**  
A: In ponds and slow fresh water. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (An underwater spider) · Seymour & Hetz (2011): The diving bell and the spider, the physical gill of Argyroneta aquatica, Journal of Experimental Biology; The New York Times (Jun 14, 2011): The diving bell and the underwater spider)_

## Sources

- [Seymour & Hetz (2011): The diving bell and the spider, the physical gill of Argyroneta aquatica, Journal of Experimental Biology](https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.056093)
- [Journal of Experimental Biology, Inside JEB (2011): How the water spider uses its diving bell](https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/214/13/i/10315/HOW-THE-WATER-SPIDER-USES-ITS-DIVING-BELL)
- [The New York Times (Jun 14, 2011): The diving bell and the underwater spider](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/science/14obspider.html)

## Cite this case file

Easterling, Marcus. "Argyroneta Aquatica." The Detail Department (DetailEnjoyer), case file DD-670, last updated Nov 7, 2025. https://detailenjoyer.com/case/argyroneta-aquatica/