Spiders

Spiders

Humans often think of spiders from a  negative point of view.   Some people think spiders are  venomous, and dangerous, but not all spiders have these features . In fact, many spiders are harmless, like the daddy long legs. It is found throughout New Zealand but in less numbers in colder areas e.g. South Island.

There are over 45,700 different species of spiders around the world,with the exception of   Antarctica. Spiders have 8 legs which separates them from the insect family. . Spiders belong in the Arachnid family. The Arachnid family are a group of eight legged species, Spiders are known to create spectacular spider webs that are made out of silk to capture there prey.

Some spiders have the amazing life span up to 15 - 25 years, but some spiders are only likely to live up to  1 - 3 years. Spiders have an unusual like blood colour (Pale blue) which tells them apart from us. Male spiders are smaller than female spiders, But the amazing thing about female spiders, is that they can lay 3,000 eggs in a day.

The largest spider/s in the world are the Giant Bird eating spider and also the Huntsman spider.These can both be found in North America.

 Many people suffer from the fear of spiders, which known as  arachnophobia.  , Approximately 10% of those with this phobia are male compared with 50% of women.

In New Zealand the only poisonous spider is the Katipo spider.

Spiders in New Zealand include the following:

• Katipo
• Redback
• White tailed spider
• Daddy long legs

And the Nelson Cave spider - One of the  biggest spiders found  here in New Zealand has the length of 3 centimeters and 13 centimeters in leg span

So Keep an eye out  for  the Nelson Cave Spider.