Spiders

There are a lot of different types of spiders found around the world

Here in New York, we have over 50 species (or types) of spiders!!

Some categories of spiders includes: jumping (A type of jumping spider is shown in the photo on the left), orb-weavers, water-gliding, wolf Spiders, and harvestmens (or daddy-long-legs which are not really spiders but they look similar!)

They all are part of the class "Arachnida" which is where the term "arachnid" (another word for spider) comes from

Because there are so many species of spiders, we need to be careful because some are very helpful for our plants but others can be dangerous for us

Here are some spiders that we need to watch out for! Go onto Google with an adult to get a closer look!!

Spider Bodies

Although spiders come in all shapes and sizes, they all have 8 legs, 2 pedipalps which they use to feel their surroundings (like cat whiskers), 2 chelicerae which are part of their mouth and can bite and chew prey, and spinnerets which is where the silk for their web comes out

The Life of a Spider

Spiders have three life stages:

Eggs: This stage is where the spiders are not yet born
Spiderlings: This stage is where they are born but very small, they need to keep growing!
Adults: The spiders are all grown up and can now lay eggs of their own

Spiders go through a process called molting where their exoskeleton (which covers their body) is shed so they can grow (like when you grow and need new clothes!)

Many spiders create webs which they use to capture prey. They will build-up and break-down their web EVERY DAY (busy creatures).

Here's some pictures of different types of spiders including the Black Widow (bottom right) which is a dangerous spider. The others are wolf spider (top left), crab spider (top right), and a baboon spider (bottom left)

Here is a picture of a mom spider carrying her egg sac. There are hundreds of little spiderlings in there!!

Some more spiders found in gardens

Cellar Spider

Cobweb Spider

Flower spider

Orb Weaver

Wolf Spider

How Are Spiders Helpful?

Spiders can be used as pollinators which helps make more plants!

More importantly, spiders eat other insects that eat and hurt plants. These insects include Aphids and Beetles

The spider shown in this picture is the Common Garden Spider which we see all over the United States, have you seen one before? Although they may look scary, they are not aggressive and love to eat the bad bugs in your garden

Although spiders can help plants, sometimes we want them away from us, here are some plants to use next time you want a little space from spiders:

basil, lavender, mint, rosemary, lemon balm, citronella, chrysanthemum (mums), and onions

Spiders are pretty resilient but some issues that can hurt their population is building of new cities (urbanization), tearing down trees (deforestation), and putting harmful chemicals in the air (pollution).

Spider Fact: Be on the lookout for an invasive spider called the Joro spider. Although it does not harm humans it can hurt other spiders that we have in our garden. They are very large and make webs that can be 10 feet in length!

Spiders in Native American Cultures

In many Indigenous cultures, spider represent coming together as friends and family. Weaving baskets is an activity many people did together and because spiders also weave (their webs) they are associated with the act of community.

In Southwestern Native American tribes, they have a story about "Spider Woman". In Hopi they call her Kokyangwuti (kak-yawn-g-woo-tee) and in Navajo Na'ashjé'ii Asdzáá (Nah-aash-yay-ee Aash-dzahh).

She has two forms: A spider form and a human form. When in her spider form, we lays in the rocks to rest until she is needed by the community. In her human form she helps give advice (like how your grandmother may give advise).

Spider Grandmother is seen as a wise leader who represents all good things.

I hope you enjoyed reading about spiders and see how important they are!

Citations

Created By

Ian Mahoney

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by Ezume Images - "Jumping Spider Macro" • Jan - "Female jumping spider (Phidippus regius) crawling on a green leaf. Autumn warm colors, macro, sharp details. Beautiful huge eyes are looking at the camera." • weyo - "Morning drops of dew in a spider web. Cobweb in dew drops. Beautiful colors in macro nature" • panor156 - "Brown spider on white" • ✧ Elenwen ✧ - "The flower (crab) spider (lat. Misumena vitia), of the family Thomisidae." • Dennis Donohue - "Large Baboon Spider on Rock in South Africa" • RealityImages - "Latrodectus hasselti, Red Back Spider, India" • Konstantin Zibert - "Closeup of woman's hands planting violet flower into the ground in her home garden helping with a trowel. A gardener transplant the plant on a bright sunny day. Horticulture and gardening concept." • THINK b - "city skyline" • ihorbondarenko - "View on smoke pipe of the factory against blue sky. Environmental pollution" • pkproject - "The globe and the recycled logo that rises from the leaves are placed on the ground that is broken" • Ruslan Ivantsov - "Paper family in hand isolated on blue background" • Dwi - "Jumping spider prey on the leaf"