Spider, (order Araneida or Araneae), any of more than 46,700 species of arachnids that differ from insects in having eight legs rather than six and in having the body divided into two parts rather than three. The use of silk is highly developed among spiders. Spider behaviour and appearance are diverse, and the araneids outside Europe, Japan, and North America have not been thoroughly collected and studied.All spiders are predators, feeding almost entirely on other arthropods, especially insects. Some spiders are active hunters that chase and overpower their prey.
These typically have a well-developed sense of touch or sight. Other spiders instead weave silk snares, or webs, to capture prey. Webs are instinctively constructed and effectively trap flying insects. Many spiders inject venom into their prey to kill it quickly, whereas others first use silk wrappings to immobilize their victims.Spiders range in body length from 0.5 to about 90 mm (0.02–3.5 inches). The largest spiders are the hairy mygalomorphs, commonly referred to as tarantulas, which are found in warm climates and are most abundant in the Americas. Some of the largest mygalomorphs include the goliath bird-eating spider (Theraphosa leblondi or T. blondi), found in parts of the Amazon, and the pinkfoot goliath (T. apophysis), limited to southern Venezuela. The smallest spiders belong to several families found in the tropics, and information about them first became known in the 1980s.
