Spider and Daddy-long legs

A spider is an araneae, an order of arachnid. There are many thousand different kinds of spiders. All spiders have eight legs. Most spiders have eight eyes but some have fewer than eight. They don't have ears, they feel the sound vibrations with tiny hairs on their legs. Their bodies have two parts, the head and the abdomen. The abdomen is plump. Spider blood is light blue. Blood fills up all the empty space in the spider's body, it helps to keep the legs stiff so the spider can walk. Spiders breathe, too. As spiders grow, they molt. That means they shed their old skin and grow a new one. They molt many times before they become adults. Many spiders live for only one year but some, like tarantulas(top left) can live much longer. Spiders come in different sizes. Some are fuzzy and others are smooth, and they come in many different colors. Spiders live in many different kinds of places, water, gardens, houses, and the ground. They live where it is hot and where it is cold. They live where it is wet and where it is dry. Some are poisonous and others are not.

Widow spiders

The southern black widow, Latrodectus mactans(right), and its relatives live across the entire United States. Other widow species found in Texas are the western black widow, L. hesperus; the northern black widow, L. variolus; and probably the brown widow, L. geometricus. Their coloration varies considerably. For proper identification, an expert may be needed to examine mature specimens.

Widow spiders are found in protected cavities outdoors. Around houses, they may live in privies, garages, cellars, furniture, shrubbery, ventilators, rain spouts, gas and electric meters and other undisturbed places. Widow spiders also may be seen in cotton fields and occasionally vegetable gardens.

Like most spiders, widow spiders are shy and retiring. People are bitten occasionally when they accidentally disturb a hidden spider or its web. To avoid hidden spiders, take care when putting on seldom-worn shoes or clothing.

These are about spiders. But the daddy long-legs is not a spider.....

Many people think of the daddy long legs(top right) as a spider but it is not. The daddy long legs is one quarter to three eighths inches in length, with long thin legs. It is a yellowish, greenish brown with legs that are pale to dark. It prefers open areas on foliage and tree trunks or shady walls outside buildings. Daddy long legs have six eyes not eight eyes like other spiders. Daddy long legs hang upside down on its web. Daddy long legs eat other daddy long legs. Daddy long legs have many enemies. Daddy long legs like dark places and are often found in the basements of houses