Spiders
Got the creepy crawlies? You're not alone! Arachnophobia, or a
fear of spiders and other arachnids, is one of the most common
phobias in the world. Unfortunately for these sufferers, spiders
are abundant and wide spread around the world, and despite being
small, their presence is often shown through their amazing
webs.
Spiders build their webs in a range of shapes and sizes, and
some spiders don't build webs at all! The webs they build are ideal
for where they live and what prey they are trying to catch. The
different types are funnel webs, orb webs, tangle webs and sheet
webs, all built by different species of spider. Webs are usually
built at night and then may be repaired two or three times during
the day. When the web needs to be repaired, the spider will eat the
silk and start again!
Arachnids are the second largest group of arthropods and they
all have eight legs, two segments to their bodies, and eat flesh!
The other members of this group are scorpions, mites and ticks. Of
all the thousands of Australian arachnids, only three have bites
that are potentially capable of causing death. These are the
Funnel-web Spider, the Red Back Spider, and the Paralysis Tick.
Back
to Bugs Garden
