Spiders

Learn more about these fascinating arthropods as scientists continue to make amazing discoveries about spiders.

Related Topics: Insects, Parasites

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A tangle-web spider (Steatoda triangulosa) captured a common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) by using the lifting technique.

Spiders hoist big prey with silk 'pulleys' — and now scientists know how

By Mindy Weisberger published

Ingenious web construction allows tangle web spiders to lift animals too heavy for the spiders' tiny muscles to support.

Two of the room's corners were teeming with skittering spiderlings.

Hundreds of 'highly cannibalistic' spiders invade teen's bedroom in Australia

By Mindy Weisberger published

Extreme heat in Australia can send spiders scurrying for indoor shelter, and one family found themselves with a few hundred new roommates.

A huntsman spider clutches its tree frog prey inside what could be a trap, constructed by the spider.

Huntsman spiders eat tree frogs after luring them into leaf traps

By Mindy Weisberger published

Tiny frogs in Madagascar are lured to their doom by spiders' ingenious silk-stitched leaf traps.

Great fox-spiders immobilize their prey by injecting them with venom that liquifies the internal organs of the insect. 

Rare wolf spider presumed extinct turns up on British military base

By Stephanie Pappas published

Britain's great fox-spider had not been seen since 1993. Turns out, it's been thriving on a military base.

A splash of red and white on the spider's back resembles the Joker's facial makeup.

Scientists discover spider wearing 'Joker' makeup, name it after Joaquin Phoenix

By Mindy Weisberger published

A striking red-and-white pattern on a newly-described spider's back resembles the grin worn by iconic Batman villain, the Joker.

The peacock spider M. constellatus

'Starry Night' replica found on peacock spider's butt

By Brandon Specktor published

Seven new species of peacock spider have been discovered in Australia, one of which was named for Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night

The newfound Araniella villanii is an orb-weaver spider, a group that uses math to spin their webs.

Newly discovered neon-green spider named after the 'Lady Gaga of mathematics'

By Laura Geggel published

Given their coloring, the members of this spider's family are known as green cucumber spiders.

The tiny silky structure's central cone is surrounded by slender pillars.

Spider Architect's Intricate 'Silkhenge' Revealed in Stunning Video

By Mindy Weisberger published

High-resolution video of tiny, bizarre silk structures found across the Amazon known as a silkhenge show the mysterious spider construction as never before.

Maratus unicup closeup

You're Not Seeing Things, These Spider Butts Look Like Faces

By Kimberly Hickok published

The flashy abdomens of male peacock spiders may serve a very important purpose.

A fishing spider waits for its prey.

A Man Caught a Spider Eating His Pet Goldfish and, Well, It's Terrifying

By Brandon Specktor published

A man caught a spider eating his goldfish in midair. This is creepily common among semiaquatic spiders, which live across the globe.

A spider on the floor.

A Man Heard 'Scratching' Noises in His Ear. It Was a Spider.

By Rachael Rettner published

A man who felt a tickling and scratching sensation in his ear soon discovered something horrifying: A spider had crawled into his ear.

An up-close photo of a brown spider super-imposed on a white background

Venomous Brown Recluse Spider Crawls into Woman's Ear

By Isobel Whitcomb published

Susie Torres didn't expect that the strange 'swishing noise' she was hearing would turn out to have eight legs.

Thousands of Tarantulas Are About to Set Off on Their Annual Migration in Colorado

By Mindy Weisberger published

In southeastern Colorado, male Oklahoma brown tarantulas will soon begin their annual migration to reach the prairies where female spiders live.

A NASA camera located near Tucson, Arizona, captured this image of a spider and a Perseid meteor on Aug. 5, 2019.

Skywatching Spider Photobombs Perseid Meteor Shower

By Meghan Bartels published

How do you spot a "shooting star"? Well, you don't look for eight legs; that's for sure.

A subterranean schizomid is pictured.

Why These Strange, Reclusive Arachnids Fled Underground in Evolutionary Waves

By Rafi Letzter published

When Australia got too hot and dry, which killed off forests, these woodland creatures decided to live underground.

Huntsman Spider Devours Possum in Viral (and Terrifying) Photos

By Mindy Weisberger published

For this arachnid, mammals are on the menu.

triangle weaver spider

This Crafty Spider Doesn't Have Venom...But It Does Have a 'Slingshot'

By Laura Geggel published

Does the idea of a spider using its web to catapult itself at high speeds give you the willies? Then be forewarned: the triangle weaver spider (Hyptiotes cavatus) does just that.

Spider Spins Web in Man's Ear (Cue the Nightmares)

By Mindy Weisberger published

An itchy feeling had an eight-legged source.

Space Orbiter Spots 'Hairy Blue Spider' on Mars

By Mindy Weisberger published

Bowie was right; there really is a "spider" from Mars.

Little Short for a Stormtrooper? Newfound Spiders Named for 'Star Wars' Villains

By Mindy Weisberger published

Like the white-armored and -helmeted Stormtroopers from "Star Wars," these spiders are tough to tell apart.