•Fear of spiders is called Arachnophobia

•It is one of the most common fears among humans

•Spiders are not insects. Insects have three body parts and six legs

•Spiders have eight legs and two body parts, the abdomen and the thorax

•Not all spiders spin webs. Spiders belong to the Arachnid family

•There are more than 30,000 species of spiders

•Most spiders have either six or eight eyes

•Spider bites can be quite painful, and a select few can be fatal

•Spiders eat many types of harmful insects, helping to keep your garden free of pests

•Webs get dirty and torn, so lots of spiders make a new one every day

•They don’t waste the old one, though–they roll it up into a ball and eat it!

•Young spiders resemble adults. Only their size and coloration differ

•Male spiders are usually smaller than female spiders

•The largest spider in the world is the Giant Bird-eating spider. One that was found had a leg span of 28 cm (11 inches)!

•The smallest spider is the Patu Marplesi. You could fit 10 of them on the end of a pencil

•Spider silk is possibly the strongest material in the world!

•Scientists believe that if they gathered the same weight of spider web as a piece of steel, the web would be much stronger than the steel!

•As hard as scientists try, they cannot match or copy the silk.