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1.) Spiders are actually arachnids, not an insects.(Arachnids are a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals. All arachnids have eight legs. Wikepedia)

2.) Other members of the arachnid family include scorpions, mites, ticks, etc.

3.) Spiders have eight legs while insects have six.

4.) Spiders don’t have antennae while insects do.

5.) They are the largest order of Arachnids.

6.) Spiders are found on every continent of the world except Antarctica.

7.) There are around 40000 different species of spider.

8.) Most spiders make silk which they use to create spider webs and capture prey.

9.) Abandoned spider webs are called cobwebs.

cobweb

10.) Most spiders are harmless to humans but a few spider species, such as the black widow, can bite humans and inject venom. Deaths from spider bites are rare.

black-widow-spider

11.) An abnormal fear of spiders is called ‘arachnophobia’.

12.) Tarantulas are large and often hairy spiders, the biggest species have been known to kill mice, lizards and birds.

Rio Grande Gold Tarantula ca. 1970s-1990s Val Verde County, Texas, USA

Rio Grande Gold Tarantula ca. 1970s-1990s Val Verde County, Texas, USA

13.) Most tarantula species pose no threat to humans

14.) The largest species of tarantula is the Goliath Birdeater.

Goliath_Birdeater
15.) Spiders are vital to a healthy ecosystem. They eat harmful insects, pollinate plants, and recycle dead animal and plants back into the earth. They are also a valuable food source for many small mammals, birds, and fish.

16.) The Bagheera kiplingi is the world’s only (mostly) vegetarian spider.

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17.) Hummingbirds use small sticks and the silk from spider webs to weave a nest for themselves.

18.) Spiders have blue blood, while humans have red blood.

19.) Giant trapdoor spiders are considered living fossils because they are similar to spiders that lived over 300 million years ago.They are found in southeastern Asia, China, and Japan and are over 4 inches across, including their legs

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20.) The world’s biggest spider is the Goliath spider (Theraphosa blondi). It can grow up to 11 inches wide, and its fangs are up to one inch long. It hunts frogs, lizards, mice, and even small snakes and young birds.

21.) The world’s smallest spider is the Patu marplesi. It is so small that 10 of them could fit on the end of a pencil

22.) The most deadly spiders in the world include the black widow, funnel web, and brown recluse spiders. One of the most feared spiders in the world, the tarantula, actually has surprisingly weak venom and a bite that feels more like a wasp sting.

23.) The bite of the brown recluse spider, which is found in the southeastern United States, is particularly dangerous because its bite is initially painless. A person may be bitten without realizing it, but after awhile the skin starts to swell and become incredibly painful. A bite could kill a person if not treated.

24.) The most venomous spider in the world is the Brazilian Wandering Spider, or the banana spider. This aggressive spider wanders the forest floors of Central and South America looking for food. Just a small amount of venom is enough to kill a human.

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25.) The most beloved spider in history is from Charlotte in E.B. White’s novel Charlotte’s Web. She lives in a barn and saves the life of her good friend, Wilbur the pig.

26.) The silk that comes out of the spider’s spinneret is liquid, but it hardens as soon as it comes in contact with air. Some spiders have up to seven types of silk glands, each creating a different type of silk—such as smooth, sticky, dry, or stretchy.

27.) The silk in a spider’s web is five times stronger than a strand of steel that is the same thickness. A web made of strands of spider silk as thick as a pencil could stop a Boeing 747 jumbo jet in flight. Scientists still cannot replicate the strength and elasticity of a spider’s silk

28.) Spiders do not have teeth, so they cannot chew their food. Instead, they inject digestive juices into the innards of their meal. Then the spider sucks up it innards

29.) Spiders can’t fly, but they sometimes sail through the air on a line of silk, which is known as “ballooning.”

30.) One spider related Halloween superstition is that if you see a spider on Halloween, it means that the spirit of a deceased loved one is watching over you.

Bonus- When you are outside, you are usually within six feet of a spider! 

Your chances of spotting a spider on Halloween or any day are pretty high!

Sources:

http://www.spidersworlds.com/facts-about-spiders/
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/animals/spider.html
http://facts.randomhistory.com/spider-facts.html

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