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Index of Bugs
Spiders are arachnids but belong with the insects in the phylum arthropoda.
Spiders have four pairs of legs rather than three pairs as insects do. Spiders have two body parts. One part is the head and thorax, called the cephalothorax. The other part is the abdomen. This tarantula is active at night, hunting on the ground. During the day, it hides inside of holes in the ground or makes a burrow.
Most spiders have eight small eyes at the front of the cephalothorax. Their eyes are only good for sensing changes in light.
In front of the mouth, a spider has two chelicerae, each with a fang on it. The spider uses its fangs on the chelicerae to inject poison and digestive juices into its prey. The food is then sucked into the spider’s body as a liquid. Tarantulas feed on insects such as crickets, mealworms or cockroaches, and small vertebrates such as lizards, mice, and birds. Behind and below the mouth is another pair of mouthparts called pedipalps. They look like legs but act as feelers and are used to taste and crush food prey.
To learn more about tarantulas and other spiders and to see them in action, order the Backyard Bugs DVD.
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