Spiders have 8 eyes and 8 legs.
Did you know?
Spiders are not insects because insects have 6 legs! They belong to a group of animals called “arachnids”.
Spiders have no bones.
They have a hard outer shell called an ‘exoskeleton’.
Because it is hard, it can’t grow with the spider. So young spiders need to molt, or shed their exoskeleton. The spider must climb out of the old shell through the cephalothorax. Can you imagine how hard it must be to pull all those legs out! As adults, they stop growing and do not need to molt.
Male spiders are usually smaller than females.
All spiders produce silk but not all spiders spin webs. Silk can be sticky, dry or stretchy.
AMAZING
Some spider’s silk is so strong that they use it for traveling. With one end attached to a surface like a tree branch, the spider will hang onto the end and let the wind carry it away (similar to Spider Man) ! This is called ‘balooning’ and can take the spider many kilometers.
As a rule of thumb: Spiders who make webs will make one new web every night.
Did you know?
SPIDERS RECYCLE! Spiders recycle their silk, they eat up what isn’t useful anymore.
Spiders have fangs. But did you know that they have pale blue blood?
The biggest spider is the Tarantula.
Fun Box
What do you do if there is a nest of huge Tarantulas in your bed? (Sleep somewhere else!)
Quiz: True or False
1. Spiders have 6 legs
2. Male spiders are usually smaller than females
3. All spiders spin webs
4. Spiders will eat up the silk they don’t need anymore
5. The biggest kind of spider is the Tarantula.
Answers: 1. F, they have 8 legs, 2. T, 3. F, 4. T, 5. T
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For your collection:
Download the Spider facts HERE.