This hub is in response to my reaction to another hubbers hub on Spiders. Her point of the hub from what I gathered was to see if we were afraid of spiders. I thought it would be a neat hub but the pictures she chose were so scary to me that I could not even read the hub. It bothered me terribly that those eight legged dark and large pictures were just going to hop off the page and get me. I know that it was a rational thought NOT!. I was surprised by my reaction. Not being a fan of spiders in the first place I wanted to look because I thought it would be a neat hub. But noooo I had to scroll down quickly before I became paralyzed with fear. Good Job Mistyhorizon2003.. you proved to me I am still afraid of spiders!! I am sure it was a good hub :) I provided link below if anyone wants to test their fear of spiders!

I think this hub was a tap into a dream I had as a child about a spider being as big as a mountain. I remember in the dream looking out a windows and seeing the silhouette of eight legs crawling over the mountain.. I can see it soo clearly still. So as an exercise in dealing with my fears I am going to do a hub on "pretty spiders" Ones that aren't so daunting and will not suck the life right out of you. I know ...too much SyFy channel!

Spiders are a part of the arachnid family. This means they are separated from the insect world. Because they have eight legs and two body parts. Arachnids have no wings. There are over 30,000 types of spider species in the world. Spiders lay eggs as many as a thousand at a time. Most spiders die before their babies are born or just leave the eggs to fend for themselves. One particular spider the wolf spider carries the egg sack with her. When the babies are born she still caries them on her back until they are fully developed.

Spiders use their webs to catch their prey.. usually bugs. Some spiders are large enough to attack and wrap up bats, snakes and fish. The Bola Spider is a fishing spider. It uses its web to fish for ...fish! Spiders use their webs for ballooning from tree to tree.

Spiders have ten eyes. Although they do not have the ability to move their eyes they can move their retinas and bodies. Spider have eyes all around their head so it makes it easy for them to track their prey.

Garden Spiders were not so scary as a kid. The only time I was scared of them was when I would almost run into one with its web between the rows of corn. I was always fascinated by their markings.

Jumping spiders just look like they have a lot pf personality. They almost look as if they would be cute and cuddly. There are 500 species of jumping spider in the world. Their jumping skills allow them to be an avid hunter. They do not depend upon a web to catch their prey. Surprisingly their jumping skills are more due to "hydraulics" instead of leg muscle. They can jump by altering the blood pressure in their legs, giving them the ability to jump 60 to 80 times their own body length! Check out the video below to see how the spider can jump!

As you might be able to tell by the picture, the jumping spider is one of the most inquisitive of his species. Instead of scurrying away from a foe or unknown object, he might turn to face it or even jump on it., Jumping spiders have even been know to jump backwards while still keeping one of their eyes on the object.

Famous Jumping Spiders? Yep Jumper the Spider from Piers Anthony series Xanath.

 Ant Mimic Spiders are a part of the jumping spider family.  As their name suggests the spider tries to fool other ants by looking like one.  This impostor ant uses its ant like looks to catch other ants off guard and then make them their prey.  Ants! Beware the eight legged ant that tries to get you alone!

The crab Spider is usually found in flowers. There eccentric markings allow for them to become a part of the flower and camouflage themselves as a part of it's intricate tapestry. Crab spiders are able to take the unsuspecting butterfly or bee by surprise. Called Crab spiders due to their legs position they are also known as flower spiders.

I believe there is a crab spider on ther cartoon series "Ms Spider's Sunny Patch".  I think his name is Spidera.

Ok so he isn't actually a spider at all but he is of the arachnid family. I found out about the Camel Spider while looking around on the Internet. Although not tooo scary to look at this beast is said to be at least six inches long. It has been found int he desserts of Iraq by some of our troops. There is not venom, but this thing is said to be able to move 10 miles per hour! I have included link to blog if you would like to read more about it!

OK so maybe he is not so pretty but he is fascinating the way he constructs his trap. He is a very clever spider! He assembles quartz crystals around his hole and attaches a string of web to each quartz.  Quartz are known for their sensitivity to vibration.  If an insect comes by and just touches the quartz it sends a vibration on the string of web attached to that rock.  That vibration lets the spider know which way to pounce when he hops out of his hole.  Pretty clever spider!

 So maybe spiders aren't so bad after all.  They seem to be quite graceful and clever.  They can even be yes... beautiful.  This hub was a true test of my arachnophobia!.   Even though I was still interested in the spiders I selected I still had to quickly click off of the sites with the big hairy scary ones. If you are an arachnophobe or even if you are not I hope you enjoyed this hub!