It doesn’t matter they’re small. It doesn’t matter they eat bugs. Spiders are freaking terrifying!
And because they’re creepy and crawly, in our humble opinion, arachnophobia, while irrational, is totally okay.
Here’s why.
First off, spiders’ legs are weird. They bend in all these angular ways and have seven different segments. And because they move in quick little bursts, they skitter everywhere they go and jump out from nowhere without you seeing them until they land on your foot. Their movements are unpredictable and you never know where those little legs are going to carry them.
All but one family of spider are venomous. That means most of the spiders on Earth are running around filled with poison. Even though most don’t have teeth large enough to penetrate human skin, that doesn’t negate the fact they are scary and filled with something toxic. And many understand the majority of spider venom is harmless to us, it doesn’t stop people from being freaked out. After all, there is still the Brown Recluse and Black Widow, and they can mess you up hardcore.
Like eight legs isn’t enough, spiders have up to eight eyes. While there is a unique cave dwelling spider that doesn’t have eyes as an adult, most have between six and eight. Spider eyes aren’t like those of insects, they are actually more like our own “simple” eyes. The two eyes in the center of a spider’s face tend to detect size, shape, and color. The eyes on the sides of their head see motion and light.
All spiders are predators. There is one species, the Bagheera kiplingi, that seems to like vegetation over meat, but it is the exception and by no means the rule. As a whole, spiders make up the largest group of carnivores on the planet. Once a spider captures its prey, it subdues it with venom, which paralyzes the prey. Once the venom settles into the prey, it liquefies the insides so the spider can eat it up.
Under the couch, behind your briefcase, in the bathtub, spiders are everywhere. You can’t seem to get away from them. As a matter of fact, spiders can be found just about anywhere in the world. There are about 40,000 species of them and they live everywhere except the following places: on the tops of the tallest mountains, Antarctica, and the ocean.
Spiders are freaky in just about every way. All those legs and eyes, skittering around corners, and jumping out at you from the sneakiest of places.