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Insects & Arachnids: Spider
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All spiders have a head, a body, a pair of jaws and four pairs of legs. Most have eight eyes. Spiders usually have claws on each leg that help them grip their web. There are about 35,000 known species of spiders in the world that scientists have named.
Spider webs are made of a spider's silk, a protein that it produces and squeezes out of glands in its body. The silk comes out as liquid but quickly hardens. Spiders produce various types of silk that come out of different glands and each one has its own purpose. Some is used for making the egg sacs, some for making the webs, and some for wrapping up prey.
Spiders can be found everywhere, from beaches to caves and deserts. Spiders usually adapt well to their specific habitat.
All spiders are carnivores, so they eat a variety of insects, and will inject enzymes into their food either before or while they are breaking it up. Some spiders, like tarantulas, can catch small mice or birds. Spiders catch their food in a number of ways. They can leap on prey while they wait in their burrows, hunt for it, or spin webs to trap it.
Tarantulas, the largest spiders, don't spin webs. Instead, they use their large jaws to catch and eat small animals.
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All spiders have venom to kill their prey, but not many can bite humans. Black widow spiders and brown recluse spiders are exceptions.
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