Domestic House Spider
Description
Spiders are anthropods, not insects. They have 4 sets of legs and 8 simple eyes, sometimes 6. Below their eyes are two jaws which end in a hollow fang that connects internally to a poison duct. The males are generally smaller than females and may differ in coloration. There are approximately 3,000 species in North America and 35,000 in the world. In a week or more after mating the female will lay anywhere from 20 to 100 or more eggs in a silken sac. Most spiders live for 1 to 2 years. All spiders are predators, paralyzing or killing their pray with venom. They feed by injecting a predigestive fluid into the body of their prey and then consume the digested liquid food.
Habitat
Most spiders are nocturnal and will scurry away when disturbed unless they are tending egg sacs or young.
Hazards
* Some spiders are poisonous to humans.
* Webs are a nuisance.
