Here are some fun facts that may (or may not!) make spiders seem a little less creepy!
ALL SPIDERS PRODUCE SILK. Something common to all 40,000 species of spiders is that they all spin silk. And as spiders have evolved so has their flexibility to work with silk. One spider can produce up to seven different types, each one used for a different purpose such as spinning webs or capturing prey.
SPIDERS ARE NEAR-SIGHTED. Most spiders have 8 eyes but some, like the brown recluse, only have 6. Spiders typically have a main set that can create images but the secondary sets can only detect light and shadow. Even with all these eyes, spiders cannot see far into the distance. This, however, isn’t really a deficiency for them as they wait for prey to get caught in their webs and rely on silk trip wires to warn them of approaching predators.
FEMALE SPIDERS CAN LAY UP TO 3,000 EGGS AT ONE TIME. The level of care that a female spider provides for her young, however, varies by species. Some females will die shortly after laying eggs while others will carry spiderlings on their backs or share prey with them.
JUMPING SPIDERS CAN JUMP UP TO 50X THEIR OWN STRENGTH. Jumping spiders can jump up to 50 times their own strength when hunting or trying to escape a predator. This is possible due to an internal hydraulic system. Jumping spiders can alter the pressure of fluids in their legs resulting in a springing motion that propels the spiders forward.
THE “DADDY LONG LEGS SPIDER” YOU SEE MIGHT NOT ACTUALLY BE A SPIDER. The nickname “daddy long legs” has been given to several different pests but only one of which, the cellar spider, is an actual spider. Crane flies and harvestmen are also colloquially identified as “daddy long legs.” Crane flies are actually agricultural pests that can fly & harvestmen are in the arachnid family but they lack venom and silk glands.
