Sensational Spiders

Heartwood chapter member Sherry Summerlin provided a tantalizing educational session on “Sensational Spiders” at the chapter meeting on April 2. She was accompanied by Tia the Tarantula. Only about a third of attendees were interested to hold and touch Tia afterwards. Some couldn’t wait for the opportunity and others bolted to the other side of the room.

Here are a few tidbits of knowledge that Sherry shared about spiders:

• There are over 35,000 species of spiders. Texas has 900 species of spiders.
• A spider eats about 200 insects per year.
• There are two types of spiders; 1) Wandering, and 2) Web building. All spiders spin silk, but not all build webs. The spider decides if the silk will be sticky, slick, transparent, visible, thick or thin, depending on the purpose.
• Only about 30 species of spiders have venom that is toxic to humans. Two species in Texas have venom toxic to humans; the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse. Both hide, usually underneath things.