Spiders give most people the creeps, but they're a mixed bag, like human beings and most other creatures. Most spiders are venomous, but only a couple of Missouri spiders have a venom dangerous to humans-the black widow and brown recluse. Jumping spiders, for example, prey on flies, while other spiders kill cockroaches and various mites. I like jumping spiders, pert and compact little fellows with personality. If a human could jump proportionally to a jumping spider, he or she would be weighted down with Olympic gold medals.
Most spiders have eight eyes, and the jumping spiders have the best eyesight of all.
A closeup look at one reveals a bright-eyed face. They're cute, if any spider can be called cute. I also like wolf spiders, gray and ominous. They are predators, stalking and killing other insects, and I like to believe that some of the insects they kill are ones I don't want around, maybe even brown recluses. I won't molest a wolf spider in our house.