Ignoring the bizarre nature of this proposed tool (and the moral implications of using a corpse in such a manner, as well as euthanizing spiders for the sake of further experimentation), researchers are confident in its practical applications. First and foremost, the physical nature of a spider’s body offers up to eight fingers that can be used for this grabber, which would make gripping irregularly-shaped objects fairly easy. But even so, why not use an extension grabber?
Well, for starters, most extension grabbers only have four fingers, so they may not be as reliable when attempting to pick up complex items. Additionally, manufactured grabbers are often made of harder materials that could scratch or otherwise damage delicate objects. Spider legs, by contrast, are much more delicate and less likely to cause damage — something that also extends to picking up or capturing live specimens like insects — though from the bug’s point of view it would probably prefer to see a metal claw bearing down on it.
It’s theorized that this same principle of manipulating deceased spiders could extend to other animals, further adapting their hydraulic limb control into new forms of locomotion or other kinds of delicate instruments. That’s assuming one has the stomach to use them in the first place.
