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Abou A Guide for Children for Guide A Illustrated by John Sill John by Illustrated t t Cathryn Sill Cathryn

595.4--dc21 2002011739 595.4--dc21 2003 .S55 QL452.2 1. Arachnida--Juvenile literature. [1. Arachnids.] I. Sill, John, illus. II. Title.II. illus. John, Sill, I. Arachnids.] [1. literature. Arachnida--Juvenile 1. 1-56145-038-3 ISBN life cycle of arachnids. of cycle life Summary: An introduction to the physical characteristics, behavior,characteristics, and physical the to introduction An Summary: Sill, Cathryn P.,Cathryn Sill, 1953- Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cataloging-in-Publication Congress of Library 1-56145-038-3 ISBN Edition First 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 China in Manufactured Systems Adobe from Novarese in set Texttitles and paper watercolor rag 100% quality archival on watercolor in painted Illustrations publisher.the of permission prior the without reviews, printed in quotations brief for other—except any photocopy,or recording, mechanical, means—electronic, any by or form any in transmitted or system, retrieval a in stored reproduced, be may publication this of part No reserved. rights All Sill C. John 2003 © illustrations interior and Jacket P.Cathryn Text2003 © Sill www.peachtree-online.com 30318-2112 Georgia Atlanta, AvenueChattahoochee 1700 P by Published Sill.-- 1st ed. 1st Sill.-- About arachnids / written by Cathryn P. Sill ; illustrated by John P.by Cathryn illustrated by written ; / Sill arachnids About EACHTREE p. cm. p. P UBLISHERS , L , TD . For the One who created arachnids. created who One the For —Genesis 1:25 —Genesis Ab outArachnids

Arachnids have eight legs… eight have Arachnids Brown Daddy Longlegs Daddy Brown PLATE1

and two main body parts. body main two and Desert TarantulaDesert PLATE2

of their bodies. their of outside the on skeleton a have They Crablike Spiny Orb WeaverOrb Spiny Crablike PLATE3

Most arachnids live on land. on live arachnids Most Giant VinegaroonGiant PLATE4

and eating smaller . smaller eating and for hunting predators, are arachnids Most California TrapdoorSpider California PLATE5

them eat their prey.their eat them helps that bite poisonous a have Some Black Widow Black PLATE6

Others suck blood from larger animals. larger from blood suck Others Eastern WoodTickEastern PLATE7

food and protect themselves. protect and food catch to stinger a and pincers use Some Giant Desert Hairy Hairy Desert Giant PLATE8

capture food. capture them help to silk spin arachnids Many Golden Silk Spider Silk Golden PLATE9

They may also use the silk to help them travel… them help to silk the use also may They Garden Spider Garden PLATE10

or protect their young. their protect or Nursery WebSpider Nursery PLATE11

their eggs or babies. or eggs their for care arachnids mother Some Sculptured Centruroides Scorpion Centruroides Sculptured WolfSpider Rabid PLATE12

A few arachnids are too tiny to be easily seen. easily be to tiny too are arachnids few A VelvetMite PLATE13

Some arachnids may cause harm… cause may arachnids Some Brown Recluse Brown PLATE14

but most are helpful and should be protected. be should and helpful are most but Daring Jumping Spider Jumping Daring PLATE15

like vinegar from the base of its tail. its of base the from vinegar like smells that acid an sprays this threatened, When America. North in lives that one only the is Vinegarone Giant the but world, the in garones Vinegarone is a whip scorpion. There are nearly seventy of vine- of species seventy nearly are There scorpion. whip a is Vinegarone Arachnids are found all over the world in almost every habitat. The Giant The habitat. every almost in world the over all found are Arachnids PLATE4 than a bee sting. bee a than poisonous more no is scary,venom looks its spider this Although animals. small other and lizards, Tarantulainsects, Desert eats The system. ductive repro- the and heart the contains abdomen, or part, back The mouthparts. the and organs sense the contains It cephalothorax. the called is attached, are legs of pairs arachnid’sfour an body,the of where part front The PLATE2 This spider spins a new web each night. each web new a spins spider This an unusual exoskeleton: six pointed “spines” project from her abdomen. her from project “spines” pointed six exoskeleton: unusual an shed this hard body covering. The female Crablike Spiny Orb Weaver has Weaver Orb Spiny Crablike female The covering. body hard this shed keeps it from drying out. In order to grow, arachnids must periodically must grow,arachnids to order In out. drying from it keeps and attacks from it protects exoskeleton or arachnid’scovering An outside PLATE3 (active at night). It eats small insects and decaying organic matter.organic decaying and insects small eats It night). at (active nocturnal is harvestmen, all like Longlegs, Daddy Brown The longlegs. daddy called sometimes are spiders, for mistaken often Harvestmen, arachnids. are harvestmen and mites, ticks, , Spiders, exoskeleton. an called covering outer hard a and legs, jointed parts, body divided distinctly with —animals of class a are Arachnids PLATE1 Afterword snakes. and lizards small catches sometimes but insects, mostly eats It humans. to threat a not is length, in inches 1/2 5 to grow can which Scorpion, Hairy Desert Giant the Even people. to dangerous world’sare the scorpions of percent 2 than Less instead. claws front their use many food, capture to or themselves defend to sting poisonous their use scorpions some Though PLATE8 tick is full of blood, it drops off. drops it blood, of full is tick the After feed. to begins and itself, attaches on, climbs by,tick passes the one When . an onto grab to ready legs, front its out stretches and legs back its with plants to clings tick The reptiles. and mammals, birds, of blood the sucking by lives that parasite a TickWoodis Eastern The PLATE7 male. the eats sometimes female the because “widow” called is spider This rare. are poisonous, though humans, to Bites threatened. when escape to try will and shy is Spider Widow Black The meal. a up suck to able are arachnids the tissue, the down break juices these When juices. digestive with animal the inject to fangs sharp prey.use their They poisons that bite a have spiders Many PLATE6 by, the spider rushes out to seize it and then drags it into the burrow.the into it drags then and it seize to out rushes by,spider the passes trapdoor.prey or As lid hinged a with covers it which ground, the in burrows or tunnels digs TrapdoorSpider California The them. eating and catching by insects control they because predators useful very are Spiders PLATE5

PLATE 14 PLATE The bite or sting of an arachnid is usually most effective on but its prey, some species are harmful to people. sometimes Ticks spread diseases. Mites may damage crops by sucking the juices from plants. A bite from a Brown Recluse Spider can cause illness and a wound that may take months to heal. PLATE 13 PLATE The smallest arachnids are mites. Many mites are parasites, living on other animals or plants. Some chigger mites bite people and cause severe itching. The Mite Velvet eats insect eggs. Even though it is only 1/8 inch long, it is easily recognized by its red color and velvety hair. PLATE 15 PLATE Arachnids play an important role in keeping nature in balance. Spiders eat insects that humans consider to be pests. The Daring Jumping Spider is often found in homes. These bold spiders have good appetites. One cap- tive individual ate more than forty fruit flies at one sitting. PLATE 11 PLATE Most spiders make cases from silk to protect their eggs. The Nursery Web Spider does not build a web to but catch it prey, does build a nursery web to hold the egg sac as hatching time approaches. The mother spider stays nearby to guard the eggs until they hatch and the spiderlings are ready to move away. PLATE 12 PLATE Some kinds of female spiders die soon after laying their eggs. Some leave their egg sacs, but others stay to guard them. The Rabid Wolf Spider drags her egg sac around until the babies hatch and crawl onto her back. PLATE 10 PLATE When baby spiders get ready to find a place to live and hunt, they climb onto a branch or a blade of grass and release a few threads of silk. The wind catches the threads and then carries the spiderlings through the air, sometimes for many miles. This is called ballooning. The little Garden Spiders in the picture are traveling in this way. Like other scorpions, the Sculptured Centruroides Scorpion carries her babies on her back until they shed their exoskeleton for the first time. This is the only scorpion in the U.S. with a sting that may be deadly to people. PLATE 9 PLATE Spiders spin silk for many reasons. Probably the most well-known reason is to trap food. Different types of spiders build webs of different shapes. Orb weavers build spiral, circular webs. The Golden gold-colored Silk Spider’s web may be 2 to 3 feet across.

, IELD and F EYOND NSECTS UIDE TO I G UIDES G BOUT NOTHER , and B IELD , A IELD , A MERICA A MERICA EPTILES A R BOUT IRDS OF ORTH B N , A SEEN - and coauthored the F the coauthored and IRDS OF AMMALS B , , M ISH F ELDOM S BOUT SEEN BOUT - NSECTS I AMMALS BOUT , A M . A native of North Carolina, he holds a B.S. in ELDOM IRDS BOUT S , and A B BOUT , and, A KNOWN AND - , A , A is an elementary , all from Peachtree Publishers. BOUT ITTLE IRDS is a prize-winning and widely published wildlife artist who IRDWATCHING L B MPHIBIANS EPTILES B MPHIBIANS A R KNOWN AND A - . With her husband John BOUT UIDE TO BOUT IRDWATCHING BOUT EYOND BOUT ITTLE ISH B L G B Cathryn Sill school teacher North Carolina, inand the author Franklin, of A F John Sill illustrated A A A A and her brother-in-law Ben Sill, Ben brother-in-law her and she coauthored the popular bird-guide parodies, A F Wildlife Biology from North Carolina State University.