When Arachne lost, she was turned into a spider and destined to weave forever. Spiders belong to the group of arthropods called Arachnids. There are more than 35,000 named species of spiders in the world with 3,000 of them making their home in North America. Finally, spiders possess unique organs beneath their abdomen called spinnerets. These 6 spinnerets allow the spider to produce silk throughout their entire life while only a few insects can produce silk and only during specific life stages.
Spiders have unique mouthparts comprised of chelicerae, or jaws, that end in fangs.
Although most spiders are venomous, they are harmless to humans with a few exceptions the black widow and the brown recluse being the most common. The venom produced by spiders is used to paralyze and kill their prey. People often mistakenly blame spiders for bites caused by fleas, ticks, or mites. Most spiders don t possess the mouthparts capable of breaking human skin. Most spiders complete a single generation in one year however there are a few species that may live for several years.