Home » Pets & Animals » Insects » Other Insects

Learn about Spiders - ARACHNIDS

13 Like

Like 13

Pin It

Ranked #1,790 in Pets & Animals, #47,061 overall

Special features

Arachnids are very adaptable so they can be found all over the world and in all land habitats. Arachnids are often confused with insects, but they are a separate animal group. They include spiders, scorpions, ticks and mites.
Most arachnids have a body divided into two parts and special 'feelers' on their head called pedipalps, which are used for mating. Most spiders have poison, in glands, but few spider bites are harmful to humans. Scorpions have a nasty sting in their tail.
Spiders have 'spinnerets' which they use to spin silk for webs. These are like nets and are spun to catch prey.

Physical features

Adult Male Phidippus mystaceus feeding on a Chrysopid

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Thomas Shahan

The body of an arachnid is divided into two parts, the cephalothorax and abdomen. These are covered by a hard outer case called an exoskeleton. The pedipalps are found on the cephalothorax. Because arachnids have no jaw, they cannot chew. So they secrete special juices into their victim to digest it and then suck their food in. They breathe through lung books and tubes called tracheae. Spiders have 8 simple eyes while scorpions have 12.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders

The Audubon has one of the easiest to use methods of finding an insect of any of the insect guides.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders (National Audubon Society Field Guides)

by: NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY

Amazon Price: $10.00 (as of 06/02/2012)

Size

Eye Arrangement of a Hogna Wolf Spider

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Thomas Shahan

The smallest arachnids are mites. They are usually less than one millimetre in length. The largest spider is the tarantula which can grow to 18 centimetres across. Scorpions vary between 1 and 20 centimetres long

Diary of a Spider

Diary of a Spider [Hardcover]

Diary of a Spider

by: Doreen Cronin

Amazon Price: $5.64 (as of 06/02/2012)

In school young spiders are warned about the dangers of vacuums and have vacuum drills.

He says, "If we hear a vacuum we should "Stop, Drop and Run!"

When they say the Pledge of Allegiance, their flag is a panel from a Spiderman comic book showing the American flag. In many ways Spider's day is like any kid's with a sleep-over and time with friends.

The clever illustrations by Henry Bliss add additional humor. As in "Diary of a Worm," the endpapers are full of great vignettes,such as, "Favorite book: Charlotte's Web."

Communication

Arachnids cannot make any noise because they do not have a voice. They usually communicate through actions. This is why mating rituals can be quite complex. Scorpions perform a strange kind of dance before they mate. The male grabs the pincers of the female and they move backwards and forwards with their tails up in the air

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders (National Audubon Society Field Guides) [Imitation Leather]

Tarantulas and Other Arachnids

by: Samuel D. Marshall

Amazon Price: $5.46 (as of 06/02/2012)

If you are interested in owning a tarantula or are new to the hobby I highly reccomend this book. It is well writen to the point and covers a lot of BASIC care information without getting to scientific or to historical. Great pictures and it has a pretty good section on different tarantulas in the hobby (talks about the temprement, housing, etc,) which will help you to choose what tarantula is right for you. This is a must for any tarantula hobbyist. Well worth your money.

Spread

Arachnids are found in most parts of the world, from cool climates to the hot tropics. The largest spiders, including the tarantula, come from the rain forests of South America.

Habitat

Arachnids - especially spiders - are found in just about every type of habitat. You'll find them in your house as well as in trees in dense, tropical jungles. Mostly, they hide in dark places during the day and come out 1 hunt at night. Scorpions tend to live dry, hot places and survive the daytime heat by burying themselves.

BIG spider - tarantula on my hand: by JCVdude | video info

24,461 ratings | 33,693,209 views

curated content from YouTube

Reproduction

Arachnids reproduce in different ways The males perform a special courtship ritual before they mate. Some use the pedipalps as semaphore signals, while others pluck the threads of their web to show that they are not prey. Finally, they produce a packet of sperm which is usually inserted into the female's pouch by the male's oedipal Fertilized eggs are wrapped in a silk cocoon for protection. The cocoon is hidden or carried around by the female.