How many antennae does a spider have

The chelicerae are a spider's jaws. They are located on the very front of a spider's cephalothorax. Every Kentucky spider has a pair of chelicerae, and they are tipped with fangs. Chelicerae are filled with muscles, and are used to hold prey while the spider injects venom.

Note that a few rare spiders, such as those in the scientific family Uloboridae, do not have venom glands, although they possess fangs and chelicerae. Spiders do not actually drink fluid through their fangs. Located behind the chelicerae are other small mouthparts, including the labium and labrum. Along with the chelicerae, these mouthparts work together to direct food into the spider's mouth, which is hidden behind the chelicerae and other mouthparts.

Some spiders, like cobweb spiders , are only able to consume fluids, but most spiders are able to eat solid food after it has been shredded and mashed by the chelicerae. In most spiders, the chelicerae are like scissors: they move from side to side. But in some primitive spiders, such as bird spiders a.

They're not. A jumping spider on a pink rose soaks in some sun. Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey. Garden spider weaving a web.

Black widow spider with egg sacs. Tags: Bohart Museum of Entomology , Explorit Science Center 1 , insects 63 , spiders 23 , why spiders are not insects 1.

I got a lot from it that I could never had thought. Thanks again. That mini spider is so cute. I can already see it scare a bumblebee.

It is a very common mistake to put spiders in the insect category. I think it's funny that school groups going to Bohart Museum of Entomology always ask where the spiders are I'm sure there will be no end to that question.

For example, spiders have chelicerae, which carry fangs. These fangs are then used for spiders to catch their animals of prey and to administer the venom, which then kills or paralyzes the target.

But perhaps one of the most important body parts of spiders are the hairs on their body, which play several important functions. A spider has approximately hairs on each of its legs, and some spiders also have hairs on their bodies. These tactile hairs give them a significant advantage over their prey, as they help spiders spot nearby animals and help spiders recognize any animals that are flying by the spider. These hairs are primarily used for moving around different surfaces with ease, as they provide the spider control over each surface and the ability to navigate easily, as it helps them stick to the surface easily.

Spiders also have poor eyesight and their hearing is also not the best, so they have to rely on their hairs and the sense organs they have in their cuticles. Spider hairs play some crucial roles in the survival of the spider. They differ from insects in having only two parts to the body, eight legs not six, six or eight eyes two in insects and spinnerets on their abdomens that produce silk. These include the daddy-long-legs spider Pholcus phalangioides , which makes scruffy webs in the corners of rooms and cupboards, and the mouse spider Scotophaeus blackwalli , a sturdier, velvety species that prowls walls at night.

Four species occur regularly in British houses, though they are tricky to tell apart, and arachnophobes will no doubt be delighted to know that a fifth now seems to be establishing itself here from mainland Europe.

While most spiders have eight eyes, there are some that only have six, and even some spiders that have fewer than six eyes. They always come in an even number, though — there are no cyclops spiders!

Spider silk starts out in the silk glands as a watery gel of long protein chains, which is funnelled down a gradually tapering tube. The gel solidifies only when stretched, so rather than being squeezed out like toothpaste, it is pulled out by a motor-like valve in each spigot. A battery of silk glands produces a wide array of fibres with different properties used for specific tasks — for instance, a dragline, snare, web support or egg case.

These webs come in many different forms — from the much-admired orb webs of garden spiders and their relatives, to the much less welcome tangle webs of daddy-long-legs spiders. Some types of webs are enduring structures — the often extensive funnel webs of large house spiders, for example, can last for years and accommodate a succession of different occupants. By contrast orb webs, produced by just four families of British spiders, are more fragile.

Wind and rain damage their structure, while the gluey coating on the spiral thread that ensnares flying insects is rendered ineffective by pollen and dust.

As a result the webs are often rebuilt every night — an operation requiring the manufacture of some 20 metres of silk. Abandoning one web and building a new one every night would be pretty wasteful.