Tarantula A Tarantula – hairy fellow Black Widow Spider A Scary Black Widow Spider
Bolas Spider A Bolas Spider
Brown Widow Spider There’s also a Brown Widow Spider
And here is a cartoon spider as a bonus A Cartoon Spider
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SizeSpiders occur in a large range of sizes. The smallest, Patu digua from Colombia, are less than 0.37 mm (0.015 in) in body length. The largest and heaviest spiders occur among tarantulas, which can have body lengths up to 90 mm (3.5 in) and leg spans up to 250 mm (9.8 in)
The average huntsman spider species is about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) long with a leg span of up to 5 inches (12.7 cm). The giant huntsman spider, however, has a leg span of up to 12 inches (30 cm), making it the largest spider by diameter; it is often described as being “the size of a dinner plate.
The giant huntsman spider (Heteropoda maxima, “the largest”) is a species of huntsman spider (Sparassidae), a family of large, fast spiders that actively hunt down prey. It is considered the world’s largest spider by leg span, which can reach up to 12 inches (30 centimeters).
Physical traitsSpiders, unlike insects, have only two tagmata instead of three: a fused head and thorax (called a cephalothorax or prosoma) and an abdomen (also called the opisthosoma). The exception to this rule are the assassin spiders, whose cephalothorax is divided into two parts by an elongated “neck”. Except for a few species of very primitive spiders (family Liphistiidae, also called segmented spiders), the abdomen is not externally segmented. The abdomen and cephalothorax are connected with a thin waist called the pedicle or the pregenital somite, a trait that allows the spider to move the abdomen in all directions. This waist is actually the last segment (somite) of the cephalothorax and is lost in most other members of the Arachnida (in scorpions it is only detectable in the embryos). Unlike insects, spiders have an endoskeleton in addition to their exoskeleton.
The cephalothorax is composed of two primary surfaces: a dorsal carapace and a ventral sternum. Most external appendages on the spider are attached to the cephalothorax, including the legs, eyes, chelicerae and other mouthparts, and pedipalps.
Like other Arachnids, spiders are unable to chew their food, so they have a mouth part shaped like a short drinking straw that they use to suck up the liquified insides of their prey. However, they are able to eat their own silk to recycle proteins needed in the production of new spider webs. Some spiders, such as the dewdrop spiders (Argyrodes), even eat the silk of other spider species.
Spiders typically have eight walking legs (insects have six). They do not have antennae; the frontmost pair of appendages are the pedipalps (or just palps), at the base of which are coxae or maxillae next to their mouth that aid in ingesting food. Since they do not have antennae, spiders use specialised and sensitive setae on their legs to pick up scent, sounds, vibrations and air currents.[citation needed]
Spiders’ legs are made up of seven segments. Starting from the body end, these are the coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus and tarsus. The tip of the tarsus bears claws, which vary in number and size. Spiders that spin webs typically have three claws, the middle one being small; hunting spiders typically have only two claws. The pedipalps have only six segments: the metatarsus is missing. In adult males, the tarsus of each palp is modified to carry an elaborate and often species-specific structure used for mating (variously called a palpal bulb, palpal organ or copulatory bulb).
Respiratory systemSpiders have developed several different respiratory anatomies, based either on book lungs. Mygalomorph and Mesothelae spiders have two pairs of book lungs filled with haemolymph, where openings on the ventral surface of the abdomen allow air to enter and diffuse oxygen. This is also the case for some basal araneomorph spiders like the family Hypochilidae, but the remaining members of this group have just the anterior pair of book lungs intact while the posterior pair of breathing organs are partly or fully modified into tracheae, through which oxygen is diffused into the haemolymph or directly to the tissue and organs. This system has most likely evolved in small ancestors to help resist desiccation. The trachea were originally connected to the surroundings through a pair of spiracles, but in the majority of spiders this pair of spiracles has fused into a single one in the middle, and migrated posterior close to the spinnerets.
Among smaller araneomorph spiders we can find species who have evolved also the anterior pair of book lungs into trachea, or the remaining book lungs are simply reduced or missing, and in a very few the book lungs have developed deep channels, apparently signs of evolution into tracheae. Some very small spiders in moist and sheltered habitats don’t have any breathing organs at all, as they are breathing directly through their body surface. In the tracheal system oxygen interchange is much more efficient, enabling cursorial hunting (hunting involving extended pursuit) and other advanced characteristics as having a smaller heart and the ability to live in drier habitats.
Lifespan
In general, males have a shorter lifespan than females for two reasons: they move about more when searching for mates, so are more open to predation; they also eat practically nothing in the adult stage since they only want to mate. Varies in every species of course, but these are common generalities. In general, males live for ~1-1.5 months.
Females of most spiders (excluding tarantulas and other mygalomorphs, as well as the Filistatidae and Eresidae) tend to die either after laying their eggs, or after the eggs hatch and the juveniles are dispersed. Considering that they store sperm, time of copulation isn’t a good estimate of when the female will die. However, we do know that they have a short life cycle. Maximal span is 2-3 years, with most of them dying before 1 year of age. It actually depends on the climate a lot – in colder, northern areas, the lifespan is longer, and in warmer southern areas, the lifespan is shorter. This is because in most spiders, the adults don’t moult.
Mygalomorphs, filistatids and eresids do moult in the adult stage, however. They live for more than 3 years, and barring predation, they can go for 10 years easy. A colleague from the Amazon tells me he knows of one that’s been alive for ~20 years – a popular visitor attraction, the jungle guide takes people there and pokes it with a stick, since it’s always under the same tree.
Spiders (orderAraneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other orders of organisms.[1] Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every habitat with the exceptions of air and sea colonization. As of September 2015, at least 45,709 spider species,[2] and 114 families have been recorded bytaxonomists.[3] However, there has been dissension within the scientific community as
to how all these families should be classified, as evidenced by the
over 20 different classifications that have been proposed since 1900.[4]
Anatomically, spiders differ from other arthropods in that the usual body segments are fused into two tagmata, the cephalothorax andabdomen, and joined by a small, cylindrical pedicel. Unlike insects, spiders do not have antennae. In all except the most primitive group, the Mesothelae, spiders have the most centralized nervous systems of all arthropods, as all their ganglia are fused into one mass in the cephalothorax. Unlike most arthropods, spiders have no extensor muscles in their limbs and instead extend them byhydraulic pressure.
Their abdomens bear appendages that have been modified into spinnerets that extrude silk from up to six types of silk glands within their abdomen. Spider webs vary
widely in size, shape and the amount of sticky thread used. It now
appears that the spiral orb web may be one of the earliest forms, and
spiders that produce tangled cobwebs are more abundant and diverse than orb-web spiders. Spider-like arachnids with silk-producing spigots appeared in the Devonianperiod about 386million years ago, but these animals apparently lacked spinnerets. True spiders have been found in Carboniferous rocks from 318 to 299million years ago, and are very similar to the most primitive surviving suborder, the Mesothelae. The main groups of modern spiders, Mygalomorphae andAraneomorphae, first appeared in the Triassic period, before 200million years ago.
A herbivorous species, Bagheera kiplingi, was described in 2008,[5] but all other known species are predators,
mostly preying on insects and on other spiders, although a few large
species also take birds and lizards. Spiders use a wide range of
strategies to capture prey: trapping it in sticky webs, lassoing it with sticky bolas,
mimicking the prey to avoid detection, or running it down. Most detect
prey mainly by sensing vibrations, but the active hunters have acute
vision, and hunters of the genusPortia show
signs of intelligence in their choice of tactics and ability to develop
new ones. Spiders’ guts are too narrow to take solids, and they
liquidize their food by flooding it with digestive enzymes and grinding it with the bases of their pedipalps, as they do not have true jaws.
Male spiders identify themselves by a variety of complex courtship rituals
to avoid being eaten by the females. Males of most species survive a
few matings, limited mainly by their short life spans. Females weave
silk egg-cases, each of which may contain hundreds of eggs. Females of
many species care for their young, for example by carrying them around
or by sharing food with them. A minority of species are social, building
communal webs that may house anywhere from a few to 50,000 individuals.
Social behavior ranges from precarious toleration, as in the widow spiders, to co-operative hunting and food-sharing. Although most spiders live for at most two years, tarantulas and other mygalomorph spiders can live up to 25 years in captivity.
While the venom of a few species is dangerous to humans, scientists
are now researching the use of spider venom in medicine and as
non-polluting pesticides. Spider silk provides a combination of lightness, strength and elasticity that is superior to that of synthetic materials, and spider silk genes have been inserted into mammals and plants to
see if these can be used as silk factories. As a result of their wide
range of behaviors, spiders have become common symbols in art and mythology symbolizing various combinations of patience, cruelty and creative powers. An abnormal fear of spiders is called arachnophobia
How do they eat? They use the venom they inject into prey to help deteriorate it. Then they are able to suck the flesh and the tissues out of it and use that for food. It causes the prey to start to liquefy from the inside out. They will leave the outer shell of their prey behind. This is often going to be a food source for other types of living things out there.
Spiders only use the biting and the venom to make their prey immobile. They use their body to grind up the prey and then they can eat. They will spit the enzymes from deep in their gut area onto the prey. They allow this to sit for a few minutes until it becomes soft enough for them to suck it all up. They have a complex filtering system in place so that solids can’t reach into their gut. This is important so that they are able to avoid digestive problems.
They are usually looked at in regards to being predators. Yet there are some that are able to consume from plant materials. This is a type of relationships that is very beneficial for the environment. It is believed that some of the young with various Spider species feed on nectar. This helps them to have proper nutrition at a young age. They tend to prefer sugar water and they are in need of adequate nutrition. Spider feeding usually takes place at night when they are predators. However, for those that are after plants or nectar they are going to be active during the day.
There are studies to show that Spiders eating nectar are healthier and tend to live longer. They don’t have the same risks as those that continue to have to produce enzymes for the digestive process. Spider feeding can occur on items that are found dead too. They are opportunistic so they won’t just eat what they find in their web. Most of the time a Spider will rush to the web and eat what is trapped. This is to reduce the chances of it being able to get away and then there is no meal for that Spider. When they come across dead insects though they will definitely eat them.
They don’t want to risk not being able to find enough food later on. Theywill also consume their webs that they have removed to build a new one. They will roll it up into a ball and then suck it up. Some species of Spiders are known to consume the remains of their exoskeleton. This is what they will shed when their old skin comes off and the new skin emerges. It is believed that it offers plenty of nutritional value for them. However, it could also be a way to help reduce smells that may attract various types of predators.
There isn’t a set amount of food that they have to eat. They will eat in abundance when it is plentiful. They will also be able to go for several days without anything at all. This is all part of why they are able to survive in many different types of environments out there. There have been studies to show that some Spiders will eat various forms of human food. This includes egg yolk, sausage, and even marmalade.
Spiders tune their silk to specific frequencies to communicate
information about prey, mates and the structural integrity of the web,
believe scientists.
Scientists from the universities of Oxford, Strathclyde and Sheffield
tested the effect of soundwaves and high velocity impact on spiders’
silk, using tiny cameras and laser monitors.
They found that the silk was able to transmit different types of
soundwave, allowing the spiders to communicate different types of
message, and perform different kinds of task.
The spiders are able to pick up on the nanometre scale vibrations
using organs on their legs called slit senillae, which look like small
grooves on their exoskeleton.
In order to test the sonic properties of the silk, the team extracted
silk from spiders through a process known as “forced silking”, which
involves using a motorised reel to extract silk from restrained spiders.
They then mounted the silk on frames, in order to be able to study
the effect of sound on strands in isolation from the complex structure
of a spider’s web.
They discovered that the vibrations that travelled perpendicular to
the silk string had different properties to those that travelled along
the silk fibre axis.
“This has important implications for what the spider uses the
different wave types for,” Beth Mortimer from the Oxford Silk Group at
Oxford University, who led the research, told Wired.
“Where one type is used for monitoring the web and the other for information on caught prey,” she told said.
Spiders have been observed “tuning” webs, so they can convey the information they want, said the team.
The garden cross spider Araneus diadematus, after finishing building a
web, “turns around on the hub and pulls at each radial thread in some
sort of sequence; in response to what she ‘feels’ she often readjusts a
tension by reconnecting the thread to the hub mesh,” explained Professor
Fritz Vollrath, also from the Oxford Silk Group.
“This very clearly is a process of tuning of the overall web tensions, which affects how signal is transmitted.
“These findings further demonstrate the outstanding properties of
many spider silks that are able to combine exceptional toughness with
the ability to transfer delicate information,” said Vollrath.
He added that practical applications of the spider research may
include intelligent sensors and actuators, which react to heat, light,
sound, motion or touch.
It is still unknown whether they communicate with other animals or how they do it
A lot of the fear surrounding spiders is based on myths, not facts, according to the experts who study these eight-legged creatures.
Myth No. 1: Didn’t see what bit you? It was probably a spider
“Unquestionably, the most pernicious of all spider myths is the idea that if you didn’t see what bit you, it was a spider,” said Rod Crawford, curator of arachnids at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle.
Spiders are blamed for all kinds of bites, bumps, rashes and growths that they likely had nothing to do with, according to Crawford. The myth that spiders tend to bite people when they least expect it — like when they’re lying in bed — has been making the rounds for well over a hundred years, but it’s not clear how it got started, he said.
Facts: While it is certainly possible for spiders to bite people in bed, Crawford said this doesn’t happen often. Unlike mosquitos or ticks, spiders don’t feed on human blood, so they have no reason to venture near a slumbering human on purpose. And even if you were to roll on top of a spider in your sleep, it would be tough for the critter to bite you since its fangsare located underneath its body, Crawford said.
The notion that spider bites are extremely common is also a potentially dangerous myth. Several conditions that are wrongly labeled as spider bites— particularly skin infections and skin cancer — are actually much more serious than spider bites and require immediate medical attention, Crawford said.
Myth No. 2: Spiders are aggressive
As Crawford said, spiders don’t seek out human beings just to bite them for fun. But, spiders also don’t always bite humans when they have the opportunity to do so.
“The thing that annoys me most about public perception of spiders is that [people think] they are all aggressive,” said Lizzy Lowe, a doctoral candidate at the University of Sydney’s School of Biological Sciences. “I collect a lot of spiders, and I do this all by hand. Very few will try to attack you or are going to do you any harm if they do accidentally bite you.”
Fact: Bites can occur when spiders feel threatened or are surprised, but for the most part, spiders seem pretty oblivious to humans, according to Lowe. Crawford said he has handled tens of thousands of spiders over the course of his 30-year career and has been bitten only twice — both of which caused what he calls “trivial” effects.
And when it comes to being aggressive, some spiders are simply misunderstood. Jumping spiders often terrify people with their ability to leap great distances, Lowe told Live Science in an email. But, these small spiders are not at all aggressive toward humans, and their venom is not a threat to people, she said.
Myth No. 3: If you see a spider in your house, you should put it back outside
You may think you’re being kind by putting a spider you find in the bathroom sink outside on the lawn, but this isn’t necessarily the case.
Fact: Putting a house spider outside is a little like “freeing” a lion that has spent its whole life inside a zoo: the odds that it’ll survive a return to its “native habitat” aren’t very good.
This is because most of the spiders found in homes — about 95 percent — have adapted to life indoors, according to Crawford. While spiders may wander into your home from outside every once in a while, this isn’t the norm. Spiders found indoors likely belong to a small number of species, dubbed house spiders, that have been living with humans since at least the days of the Roman Empire, Crawford said.
In Seattle, for example, there are approximately 137 species of spiders that live outdoors and there are approximately 25 known species of house spiders. Only eight of those species, however, can survive both inside a house and outside in the garden, Crawford said.
So what should you do when you see a spider in your house? Crawford suggests leaving the critter alone, but if that’s not your style, he recommends trying to keep spiders out of certain areas of your home where you’d rather not run into them, such as the bedroom. Seal any gaps in floorboards, cracks in walls or other holes or crevices through which the spiders may access these spaces, Crawford said
How long does it take spider eggs to hatch?Eggs laid during a season with favorable weather (spring or summer) can hatch in a matter of weeks. Eggs laid in autumn will take several months to hatch, the eggs and spiderlings overwintering inside the cozy silken case.
How many eggs do spiders lay?Female spiders are fairly prolific at generating offspring, some creating several egg sacs with dozens of eggs in each. Most web-building spiders favor this strategy, knowing that only a few of their offspring will survive to adulthood. Some egg sacs, such as those of Argiope, can have up to 1,500 eggs each. Tiny spiders, such as some Erigone, may build egg sacs with as few as 10 eggs. Hunting spiders tend to have fewer offspring, but protect them better.
How long do the offsprings live with the parent?Female wolf spiders carry their egg sacs with them, attached to the spinnerets. Once the spiderlings hatch, mother wolf spider lets them ride on top of her abdomen until they have their first molt, at which point they disperse to fend for themselves.
Many species’ spiderlings hatch and simply fend for themselves. They either walk to new locations or travel by ballooning, a process whereby the tiny critters let loose a strand of silk that carry them miles away in the wind.
Spiders live in almost every habitat on earth. The only places where
there are no spiders are the polar regions, the highest mountains and
the oceans. A few spider species have invaded the ocean’s edge, living
in the rock and coral crevices of the intertidal zone. We can find spiders anywhere on earth because they have
adapted to the environment to make a habitat. For example, if the place
where they live, their habitat, is cold or has too much rain or light or
enemies are around, some spiders build tents that they use as retreats
or hiding places to find shelter from all of this. These spiders roll up
a leaf, wrap it and secure it with silk threads. They go into the
shelter until they feel safe enough to come out. This way spiders can
live under difficult conditions in different parts of the world. Some
types of spiders use the tents to jump down on unsuspecting prey. Spiders can thrive and live in almost any place: on the edges
of the ocean, on plants, under rocks, in trees, in caves and even over
the water. Virtually all spiders are predatory on other animals,
especially insects and other spiders. Very large spiders are capable of
preying on small vertebrate animals such as lizards, frogs, fish,
tadpoles, or even small snakes or baby rodents.
Uncover a Tarantula examines the structure and anatomy of the largest spiders in the world and provides fascinating facts and information on each exciting page. Learn how these predators capture and kill other insects and animals, use their bodies to protect and camouflage themselves and why their blood is green. This full-color illustrated book combines the best model elements to help readers truly uncover the mysteries of what makes things work. A fascinating three-dimensional presentation allows in-depth, hands-on exploration of the subject at hand. This unique model is easily built, deconstructed, and rebuilt layer-by-layer, system-by-system, just by turning a page, until an understanding of the topic is achieved. Kids will love to see and touch each disgusting but interesting tarantula part!
The Spider and the Fly (poem)
The Spider and the Fly is a poem by Mary Howitt (1799-1888), published in 1829. The first line of the poem is “‘Will you walk into my parlour?’ said the Spider to the Fly.” The story tells of a cunning Spider who ensnares a naive Fly through the use of seduction and flattery. The poem is a cautionary tale against those who use flattery and charm to disguise their true evil intentions. When Lewis Carroll was readying Alice’s Adventures Under Ground for publication he replaced a parody he had made of a negro minstrel song[1]with a parody of Howitt’s poem. The “Lobster Quadrille”, in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, is a parody of Howitt’s poem; it mimics the meter and rhyme scheme, and parodies the first line, but not the subject matter, of the original.[2]
CARTOON
A Cartoon Spider
MOVIE
Arachnophobia
Storyline
A large spider from the jungles of South America is accidently transported in a crate with a dead body to America where it mates with a local spider. Soon after, the residents of a small California town disappear as the result of spider bites from the deadly spider offspring. It’s up to a couple of doctors with the help of an insect exterminator to annihilate these eight legged freaks before they take over the entire town.
SPIDER (2002)
Dennis Clegg is in his thirties and lives in a halfway house for the mentally ill in London. Dennis, nicknamed “Spider” by his mother has been institutionalized with acute schizophrenia for some 20 years. He has never truly recovered, however, and as the story progresses we vicariously experience his increasingly fragile grip on reality.
One of the most sensitive vibration sensors in the natural world is the lyriform organ, located in the legs of many spiders. The organ has a series of parallel slits of different lengths, much like the strings on the harplike instrument called the lyre, and helps spiders detect prey.
Now, researchers from South Korea have developed a highly acute sensor, made of a thin platinum-coated polymer, that was inspired by the organ.
“The polymer is very flexible, so we can bend it,” said Mansoo Choi, a mechanical engineer at Seoul National University and an author of the research, which appears in Nature. “And depending how much you bend it, you can generate controlled cracks.”
Vibrations cause slits in the sensor to come together or move apart. The researchers measured these changes to detect vibration characteristics like variations in frequency and size.
The sensor, just two-tenths of an inch by four-tenths of an inch, could be worn on the wrist to monitor and gather health information, Dr. Choi said. Attached to the neck, it could recognize simple spoken words — go, jump, shoot, stop — that might be used in a computer game.
The current prototype is 100 times as sensitive as the best commercially available sensor of its kind, he said. SINDYA N. BHANOO
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Spiders. Tarantulas and venomous spiders. Traveling throughout the world in search of the world biggest spider. Spidermania, Rick West, Full Version.
MISSREPRESENTED OF SPIDER
In Native American symbolism, the Spider is a symbol of protection against torrential storms. In yet other Native American lore accounts, the Spider (personified as the Grandmother) was the teacher and protector of esoteric wisdom. The meaning of Spider in India is associated with Maya. The term Maya comes from the Sanskrit root “Ma” which means no form or limit. The term Maya describes the illusory nature of appearances. The Spider’s association with Maya brings about the understanding that not all things are as they appear to be. The Spider symbol meaning in Egypt, is akin to Neith, a complex deity usually depicted with arrows as she is associated with hunting. Along with hunting, she is also associated with the creation, specifically the process of recreation in the dawning and dusking of each day. Neith is also a weaver, and is often shown with a shuttle in her hand (a tool used for weaving). It is this activity that gains her association with the Spider. And of course, no conversation about the meaning of spiders is complete without discussing the Greek myth of Arachne, a mortal (although of noble stature) who was a spectacular weaver. Acclaim for her luscious lively looms spread over hill and dale and ultimately reached the immortal ears of Athena. Arachne claimed she was the best weaver, and thus prompted a challenge from Athena. And so, they played a round of “dueling looms,” but no one could confirm the victor. However, Arachne was quite smug about the whole process. So much so, that Athena smote her with a mighty blow of conscience and a dose of guilt. Arachne took the dosage hard, and could not live with the intense feelings of guilt and sorrow so she killed herself. Athena felt awful over the whole mess and decided to resurrect Arachne in the form of a spider so that she and all her offspring would forever be the best weavers of the universe.
Spiders are often seen as horrific beings because of their appearance. Very few know that they are actually wonderful architects and designers of beauty. Through this site, we would like to serve them justice by providing facts, serving informations, and busting myths. For spiders everywhere.
