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Spiders were some of the first creatures to live on land. Evolving over 400 million years ago, spiders are from the Arachnid family. Scorpions, mites and ticks are also Arachnids. Spiders are commonly thought to be insects, but they are not!

Spiders have two body parts, the thorax and the abdomen. They also have four pairs of legs (eight total), and do not have the ability to fly. Insects on the other hand have three main body-parts, three pair of legs (six total) and most likely have wings for flight.

Spiders have many features that make them unique. They might be best known for their ability to spin webs. But did you know that they produce three different kinds of web material? Spiders have three pairs of “spinnerets” at the tip of their abdomen. These “spinnerets” produce fluids that are high in protein. When the spider releases this fluid, it hardens and becomes silk. A spider produces different silk thread to make a cocoon or to bind its prey. Spiders also use a special light silk thread to make balloons. These balloons allow spiders, especially young spiders, to float in the air and travel long distances.

The spider’s web is used mainly to catch prey. Although spiders eat mostly insects, some larger spiders have been known to eat mammals, snakes, birds and even each other. Spiders vary in size–the smallest spider called the Anapid has a body the size of a pinhead. The largest of spiders, the Goliath Tarantula, is so big that its legs can span the size of a large dinner plate. The smaller spiders tend to live from about one to two years, while some of the larger spiders can live up to twenty years.

So what about Spider-Man you say? Although we cannot say a real Spider-Man exists, we can follow the story of Spider-Man as created by Marvel Comics.

The Spider-Man Comic was first published in 1962. The story holds that a radioactive spider bit Peter Parker, thus passing on spider-like qualities to him, which gave him super strength, the ability to crawl up walls, and shoot out silk web ropes that allowed him to fly around town. Spider-Man believes that with his great powers comes great responsibility. He does not abuse these powers, but uses them to fight villains and save innocent people.