Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

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TaranTula

True tarantulas are shy spiders that live mainly

in burrows. False tarantulas, such as the big

spider shown here, include various large, hairy

hunting spiders from north and South

america. They are also called bird or monkey

spiders. Their bite is painful to humans, but it

is less poisonous than the bite of smaller

spiders such as the black widow.

FEW anIMalS arE MOrE FEarEd but less understood than

spiders and scorpions. We often call these scurrying little

creatures insects, but they really belong to the group of

animals called arachnids, along with ticks and mites.

Insects have six legs; spiders and other arachnids have

eight legs. There are about 40,000 kinds of spiders and

1,400 kinds of scorpions. all are carnivorous (meateaters).

Scorpions hunt down their prey and kill it with their

pincers. If the prey is big, or struggles, the scorpion

uses the sting in its tail. Many spiders capture

insects by spinning a silken web. The silk of some

webs is stronger than steel wire of the same thickness.

not all spiders spin webs, however; some catch their prey by dropping a net of silk

on to it. a few spiders, such as the trap-door spider, rush out at their victim from a

burrow. Some scorpions and several spiders are dangerous to humans, including

the australian funnel web spider and the durango scorpion of Mexico.

The sting is

connected to

twin poison

glands at the

end of the tail.

Imperial

scorpion

GardEn SpIdEr

Thousands of spiders live in our

houses and gardens, feeding on flies,

gnats, and moths. The common garden

spider spins a beautiful, complicated

web called an orb web, often between

the stems of plants. Some spiders lie in

wait for their prey in the center of the

web; others hide nearby. Many orb-web

spiders spin a new web almost every day.

FOOd

Spiders eat animal prey. Their most

common victims are insects, worms,

sow bugs, and other spiders. The

spider’s venom subdues or paralyzes

the prey while the spider wraps it up

in a silk bag to eat later.

YOunG ScOrpIOnS

Scorpions are born fully formed. at

first, the female scorpion carries the

young on its back, where they are

well protected from predators. after

the young have molted (shed their

skin) for the first time, they leave

their mother to fend for themselves.

Scorpion’s large pincers are called

pedipalps. They seize, crush, and tear

the prey, then pass it to the jaws.

ScOrpIOn

Scorpions live mainly in warm

regions, lurking beneath rocks

or in cracks or burrows. Most feed

at night, ambushing or hunting

down their prey. They feed mainly

on insects and spiders. The

scorpion uses the sting at the end

of the tail in self-defense, as well

as to subdue its prey.

Black WIdOW

The female black widow spider is so

named because it sometimes kills its

mate. This spider is also one of the few

spiders that can kill humans. The female

black widow shown here is standing near

its eggs, which are wrapped in a silken

egg sac, or cocoon.

Spiders and scorpions

SpIdErlInGS

Young spiders are called spiderlings.

They hatch from eggs inside a silken

cocoon and feed on stores of yolk in

their bodies. after a few days, weeks,

or months, depending on the weather,

they cut their way out of the cocoon

and begin to hunt for food.

Mother carries

the young on

her back.

The female black

widow has a

deadly

bite.

Find out more

animals

desert wildlife

Snakes

WEB

Spiders

make webs with a

special silken thread from

glands at the rear end of

the body. Tubes called

spinnerets squeeze out the

thread like toothpaste.

The silk hardens as the

spider’s legs pull it out.

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