Science & Wellness

13 reasons spiders are cool, not scary

1. The VAST majority of spiders are not harmful to humans.

spider on hand

2. Bolas spiders don’t build a typical web, but instead hunt with a glob of sticky glue that they dangle from a silk thread. During the day, these tiny, harmless spiders camouflage themselves by mimicking bird poop.

 

3. Spiders are voracious predators when it comes to insects — they eat a variety of things that people don’t like: mosquitoes, flies, agricultural pests…pretty much anything.

via GIPHY

4. This jumping spider from Kenya eats female mosquitoes that have fed on blood.

jumping spider from Kenya

5. Some spiders mimic other animals, like this species that wears a Halloween-appropriate ant costume.

spider in ant costume

6. Some spiders are good moms -- Wolf spider females carry their babies on their back.

Wolf spider

7. This spider common to North Florida spits sticky glue onto its prey to subdue it.

spitting spider

8. Spiders smell with organs on their feet.

spiders smell with feet

9. Spiders hear with hairs on their legs.

spiders hear with legs

10. Males trying to impress a female will sometimes offer her gifts, often a web-wrapped insect. Others, like this guy, dance for their lady.

web-wrapped insect

11. One spider in Morocco projects itself across sand like a cartwheel.

12. Some spider silk is stronger than steel.

spider silk

13. Baby spiders are adorable.

Stephenie Livingston Author
Bernard Brzezinski, Lisa Taylor Photography
October 28, 2016