spiders are a really broad group of arthropods so ill have to give a more generalized view but
to start, theres a lot of myths about spiders that make people more frightened of them. bumps that appear on your skin overnight often get called ‘spider bites’ due to an assumption that spiders come to bite you while you sleep, but this is entirely untrue. these bumps are usually either bites of other bugs (mosquitos or flies) or not even bites at all, and are just acne or similar things. most spiders dont even have jaws strong enough to penetrate human flesh.
the whole “the average person swallows x amount of spiders every year” thing is also a myth. the odds of that happening are extremely low, if it happens at all its more of a once in a lifetime type thing that you wont even be aware of since youre asleep.
there are no spiders that prey on humans in any way (such as sucking blood). i dont know where youre located so sorry if youre in like. australia, but if youre in the US our list of dangerously venomous spiders is pretty small, and no spider anywhere will seek out and attack you.
as with any given small arthropod, they interpret you as part of the environment, like a rock or something. (which is why they sometimes approach you, they think the shadow under your body is a safe shelter). so they dont even regard parts of your body as a predator until you make a movement very close to them, and they cant bite you unless you get its distance of touch
okay so about cool stuff about spiders.
spiders as a whole are vitally important to the ecosystem. theyre one of the single biggest controls of insect populations out there, and very much beneficial to have in your home as they help control pest insects.
spider’s webs are just really fuckin incredible. theyre extremely strong for their size/weight yet flexible, as well as water resistant, so a lot of researchers are attempting to design medical supplies and other gear based on them. the process itself of making silk is impressive, its stored as a liquid within the body and solidifies in the air, and many spiders can produce multiple different types of silk with different qualities by using different sequences of proteins.
a lot of species have subsocial behavior, with the young staying with their siblings and parents until reproductive age. a few spiders have very significant maternal care.
wolf spiders are the peak example of this. they carefully weave their eggs into an egg sack that they carry on their body and will protect ferociously. in some studies where the egg sack was split and the eggs spilled, the mother delicately attempts to seal the eggs back into the sack, and when unsuccessful she spins a sheet over the spilled eggs and guards them until they hatch.
when the young hatch, the mother carries them on her back and continues to protect her offspring until they are ready to disperse.
spiders are a very large group, so i cant even begin to list all the cool species without making this ridiculously long but theyre really incredible and wonderful animals.
okay so finally im putting a few spiders under the cut that are about as conventionally cute or non spider looking as spiders can go, and dont have the traits that most ppl tend to be creeped out by. so if youre comfortable looking, these are jst a few species that can kind of help you acclimate to them
Fancis could you help me be less scared of spiders? Ive grown to like a lot of bugs after hearing you talk about them. (I know spiders arent bugs but like im trying to say youve made me less afraif of other things is there stuff about spiders that could make me less scared of them)
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