There are more that 38,000 different types of spiders. Some are as small as a grain of sand. The Goliath is 30 inches long and eats birds. Spiders don't have ears or a nose so it relies on the hairs on its body to sense the vibrations of nearby prey.

Spiders skin is made of chitin. Spiders dont have bones so they rely on chitin for protection. Spiders skin dosent stretch so when they struggle to move they shed there old skin this is called molting. Molting can take an hour so a molting spider must find a safe place to molt. Spiders silk can be sticky, stretchy, strong, or fluffy. Each has a special use: for making egg sacs, wrapping prey, building webs, or making draglines that the spiders trails as it walks along or jumps.

Some spiders dont use webs. The fishing spider rests at the waters edge with on foot in the water. When it feels vibrations in the water it pounces. A jumping spider can leap twenty times its body length. That is like you jumping 80 feet!

Tarantulas are kings and queens of ambush. At night thay sit in their dens, waiting for a cockroack or a mouse to walk by. Most spiders live for a year or two, but some tarantulas can live for thirty years. Giant wasps, called tarantula hawks, find tarantulas in their dens. The wasps sting them and use them as food for their young. Some tarantulas brush hairs, like tiny darts, from their body. These sting the eyes of their attacker.

The wolf spider will carry its spiderlings on its back. When the spiderlings are ready to hatch they chew their way out of the egg sac. When the spiderlings are ready to survive on their own they climb to the tops of trees. Then they let out long streamers of silk until the breeze catches and carries them into the sky. Some will only sail for a few yards. But others may float on the wind for more than 100 miles.