We will leave snare builders for another time, and here explore the wanderers A crab spider ( Misumenoides formosipes) Illus: Craig Latker Ecologically, spiders can be divided into those that build webs for snaring prey, and those that wander, using silk for other purposes. (The closely related order Opiliones includes the daddy-long-legs, or harvestmen, recognized by having only one main body part.) All spiders make silk, a special protein strand produced by spinneret glands, during all their life stages. Spiders, in the order Araneae, have only two main body parts: the abdomen, and the cephalothorax, analogous to the fused head and thorax of insects. Spiders have eight legs, two more than insects, and are part of the class Arachnida, which includes several familiar orders of arthropods such as scorpions, ticks, and mites. Even the occasional entomologist, while professing a love of insects, may be openly arachnophobic. Yet, despite the considerable contribution spiders make in pest control, it can be difficult to overcome the fear. In the West, the only seriously venomous spider is the shy, nocturnal, and easily avoided black widow. Worldwide, only about twenty-five species are dangerous to humans, and most of these are not aggressive. Spiders, however, have done little to warrant their sinister reputation. She would have done better to be wary of her father, who dosed her with spiders as medicine-a not uncommon remedy in times past. Since long before Miss Muffet was scared off her tuffet, people have feared spiders. A Wolf Spider ( Schizocosa mccooki) Illus: Craig Latker Wolves, Crabs, and Other Wandering Spiders
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