Spiders (2024)

FAQs

What do you know about spider answers? ›

It is well-known that spiders respond when something vibrates their webs, such as potential prey. In these new experiments, researchers for the first time show that spiders turned, crouched or flattened out in response to sounds in the air.

The poor old solifugid isn't even really a spider.

The camel spider can run fast, but it's not interested in you. The camel spider might just be the most misunderstood arachnid on the planet. Also known as a wind scorpion, it's neither a spider nor a scorpion.

Spiders probably evolved about 400 million years ago from thick-waisted arachnid ancestors that were not long emerged from life in water. The first definite spiders, thin-waisted arachnids with abdominal segmentation and silk producing spinnerets, are known from fossils like Attercopus fimbriungus.

Spiders avoid people, animals, and most insects – except for the one's they're about to eat of course. As stated above, most spiders are relatively small. That makes them especially vulnerable. Many birds and animals may try to eat spiders, or at the very least, they'll probably interfere with the spider's food source.

Scientists deduced that spiders recognize the threat of another spider, even if it isn't moving. The spiders were more likely to run away in fright if the "threat" spider had eyes.

There is evidence consistent with the idea of pain in crustaceans, insects and, to a lesser extent, spiders. There is little evidence of pain in millipedes, centipedes, scorpions, and horseshoe crabs but there have been few investigations of these groups.

Spiders really don't like strong scents such as citrus, peppermint, tea-tree, lavender, rose or cinnamon. Add 15 to 20 drops of your chosen essential oil or a couple of capfuls of Zoflora fragrance to a spray bottle filled with water, and spritz around the house.

Spiders do have feelings, but unlike a dog or a cat, they won't bond with you. In fact, they likely won't even recognize you. They simply aren't hardwired to be companions to humans and should never be bought at pet stores, online, or anywhere else.

Do spiders know you are scared? ›

While the theory is unproven, it is likely that spiders can detect human fear. However, there are only few studies about this topic and it is not yet known for certain. Different animals have sensory organs that are able to identify different stimuli.

The jumping spiders, or the Salticidae, are a family of over 600 separate genera and over 6,000 separate species of spider. The spiders themselves are curious and inquisitive, and they are favored among arachnid admirers for their cleverness and their adorable, almost friendly appearance.

Joro spiders built to withstand human activity

The researchers believe the Joro spiders' shyness may help them better endure the barrage of noise, vibrations and visual stimuli they consistently encounter in urban settings. Their prolonged freeze response to being startled could help conserve the Joro spiders' energy.

Some web-building spiders can form memories of the prey they catch, and the rare the ability has now been documented in black widows, who can retain information about their prey's size and the location where it was ensnared in the spider's web.

Spiders are arachnids, a class of arthropods that also includes scorpions, mites, and ticks. There are more than 45,000 known species of spiders, found in habitats all over the world.

Spiders can be found on every continent of the planet except Antarctica. They are both hunters and hunted. They capture their prey in a variety of ways, either by spinning a web and waiting for their unsuspecting prey to fall into the trap, or jumping out of a hiding place onto a passing meal.

Spiders are nearsighted

Spiders typically have a main set that can create images while the secondary sets can only detect light and shadow. It is thought that the secondary sets of eyes are derived from the compound eyes of a common ancestor to both spiders and insects.

The largest spider in the world and the first on our list is the impressively named Goliath birdeater. Hailing from the rainforests of northern South America this is the largest spider by body mass (up to 175g) and by body length (13cm).