My essay is on spiders. I have chosen a few spiders to report about. I also have some basic info about spiders in general. Spiders comprise a large, widespread group of carnivorous arthropods. They have eight legs, can produce silk, and usually have poison glands associated with fangs. More than 30,000 species of spiders are found on every continent except Antarctica in almost every kind of terrestrial habitat and a few aquatic ones as well. Spiders range in body size from about 0.5 mm (0.02 in) to 9 cm (3.5 in). The term spider is derived from the Old English spinnan ( 'to spin' ) referring to the group's use of silk. Spiders make up the order Araneae in the class Arachnida, which takes its name from the mythological character Arachne, a peasant girl who challenged the weaving skill of the goddess Athena. Arachne equaled Athena's skill in a contest, and in response to Athena's anger she hanged herself.
English: Black Widow Spider
Latrodectus hesperus with egg sac
English: Adult male brown recluse spider (Loxoscel...In belated remorse Athena changed the body of Arachne into a spider and allowed her to retain her weaving skill.
My first selection is the brown recluse spider. The brown recluse spider (Loxosceles reclusa) is a poisonous snake in in the United States. Its mostly found from Kansas and Missouri, south to Texas, and west to California. Found in sheltered places indoors and outdoors it is about 10 mm (.4 in.) long and has an orange-yellow body with a dark violin-shaped design on its back. Its bite isn't usually fatal to humans, the venom destroys the skin and it may take a few months to heal. The brown recluse is mostly active at night. it feeds on small insects that it paralyzes with its poison.
The Black Widow
The black widow, Latrodectus mactans, is a poisonous spider of the...