Invertebrate Stereotypes - Spiders - 7

Evil

Spiders often scare people due to their strange appearance. Arachnophobia is still the most common phobia. Although all spiders are venomous, only a small number of them are dangerous for humans. In horror stories the giant spider is a popular monster, for instance Shelob, Tarantula, Arachne, The Giant Spider Invasion, Eight Legged Freaks,... Rare examples of a positively depicted spider include Anansi, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Charlotte A. Cavatica from Charlotte's Web and Miss Spider from James and the Giant Peach.

Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every habitat with the exception of air and sea colonization. As of 2008 there are at least 43,678 spider species.