Whether you want to teach your young children more about these bugs or you want to help them understand their environment, we have 41 fascinating spider facts for kids.
Spark a spider conversation with your children and help them connect with the weird and wonderful wildlife and nature around us.
Interesting Facts About Spiders
Spiders are a type of but they are very different from bees, ants and butterflies. Their unusual skills and characteristics make them special in the animal kingdom.
Spiders are closely related to ticks and scorpions.
Unlike many other insects, spiders have eight legs.
A spider has one body but it is made up of two individual body sections.
Only a few spiders are venomous and toxic but the majority of spiders are harmless to humans.
Most spider species have eight eyes, though there are some spiders that have fewer eyes.
All spiders have sharp fangs that allow them to catch their prey.
Not all spiders make webs. In fact, only half of all known spider species spin webs.
Spiders make their own silk to create their pretty webs. The silk also helps them catch insects and protect their eggs.
Baby spiders always look like small adult spiders. This is unusual in the insect world because many baby bugs look completely different from their parents.
Baby spiders are known as spiderlings.
A tarantula is a certain type of spider. It is one of the biggest spider species.
Most spiders are not aggressive and they try to avoid contact with humans. They only bite when they are provoked or they feel threatened.
Fascinating Spider Facts For Kids
Not all spiders are solitary animals. Some spider species build communities and make large cobwebs. They even work together to trap their prey and share it with each other.
The mating season for spiders is during fall. Spiders grow bigger during this time and they also become more active.
Some spiders, like raft spiders, can walk on water and even catch fish with their nets.
The small hairs on a spider’s feet allow it to walk on the ceiling.
Wolf spiders don’t leave their babies in the net but they carry them on their backs.
Spiders can make different kinds of silk depending on what they want to use the silk for.
Spider silk is super tough. Compared to other materials and the spider’s weight, web silk is stronger than steel.
The oldest spider in the world was 43 years old.
A spider stores the silk as a liquid inside its body. It only turns solid when the spider starts using it to make a web.
Different spiders make different web shapes. For example, a grass spider spins a funnel-shaped web.
Just like humans, spiders also have blue blood.
Spiders can look like ants. There are more than 100 spider species that appear to be ants. This allows them to avoid predators and get closer to their prey.
There are a number of dangerous spiders in North America but the most dangerous are the brown recluse and the black widow.
Cobwebs that you can see in old houses are actually spiderwebs that were abandoned by the spider.
In the 17th century, Italians were frightened of the bite of the wolf spider. They believed that the bite would make them dance frantically. This inspired a special dance called tarantella.
There are spiders that don’t have any eyes at all. They often live in caves where they don’t need light to see.
Some spider species make a new web each day.
Spiders don’t chew their prey.
A spider can eat hundreds of small flies in one day.
Some male red widow spiders offer themselves as food to the female spiders.
Tarantulas don’t spin webs to catch food but they create nests and shelters.
Some spiders don’t like eating a certain type of moth. They throw them out of the web if the moths are caught.
The two biggest spiders in the world are the Goliath birdeater spider and the giant huntsman spider.
Some spider species, like jumping spiders, can see the world in a way that humans cannot. Some spiders even see UVB and UVA light.
A new-world tarantula throws its tiny hairs at predators to defend itself.
Spiders lay eggs in egg sacks. The babies can develop immediately or they might sleep over the cold winter months.
Many spider species eat other spiders and even spiders from their own species.
On warm summer days with a light wind, you can watch baby spiders flying in the air because they are so light.
Final Thoughts
Spiders are fascinating creatures with their unique characteristics, behavior and skills.
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