Arachnid Factids

Facts and information about spiders, scorpions, amblypygids, solifugids, harvestmen, and more! This blog aims to spread empathy for and knowledge of all manner of beautiful, underappreciated arachnids, because ignorance is so often the root of fear. Don't "kill it with fire". Understand it and respect it from a distance! Feel free to submit (sourced) facts, news, videos, photos, suggestions, or species ID requests.

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If you’ve seen a horror movie about spiders (or basically any other media that features someone losing their nerve over a big, fuzzy arachnid), Grammostola porteri is usually the star. This docile tarantula species from Chile has been popular both in film and in pet stores for decades. They are likely the most commonly kept eight-legged companions in the world, praised for their gentle temperament, ease of husbandry, and for living upwards of twenty years!

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The Six-Eyed Sand Spider (Sicarius hahni) is one of the few arachnid species that the internet seems to have generally taken a liking to, against widespread misinformation about the potency of spider bites. Ironically, S. hahni is also one of the handful of spiders whose venom is potentially lethal, or at least extremely painful! There is, however, no solid evidence of a bite to any human. In fact, it is also a fairly popular (if somewhat hard to find) pet species.

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Bagheera kiplingi is a species of jumping spider found to live on acacia shrubs. Ants also live on these shrubs and protect them from predators, but this spider does not often eat ants. It is almost, if not exclusively vegetarian! It feeds on berry-like structures at the ends of acacia leaves called Beltian bodies. The ants also eat these, and the two species are competitors instead of predator and prey. Jumping spiders are very intelligent and possess impressive problem-solving skills. The plant it feeds on may be infested with its own personal army, but B. kiplingi is much cleverer than its food or its competition.