Spider behavior Spider behavior Spider behavior refers to the range of behaviors and activities performed by spiders. Spiders 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 which is reflected in their large diversity of behavior. Almost all known spider species are predators, mostly preying on insects and on other spiders, although a few species also take vertebrates such as frogs, lizards, fish, and even birds and bats. Spiders' guts are too narrow to take solids, and
Hexapoda Hexapoda The subphylum Hexapoda (from the Greek for "six legs") constitutes the largest number of species of arthropods and includes the insects as well as three much smaller groups of wingless arthropods: Collembola, Protura, and Diplura (all of these were once considered insects). The Collembola (or springtails) are very abundant in terrestrial environments. "Hexapods" are named for their most distinctive feature: a consolidated thorax with three pairs of legs (six legs). Most other arthropods have more than three pairs of legs. Hexapods have bodies ranging in length from 0.5 mm to over 300 mm which are divided into an anterior