Lesson 26: Observing Jumping and Trapdoor Spiders

         Jumping spiders and trapdoor spiders are not insects, because they have eight legs, not six. They are part of the class Arachnida. They have an exoskeleton like insects, but they only have two body segments. They are called the cephalothorax and the abdomen. They make silk webs with their spinnerets. Trapdoor spiders make burrows underground and make a trapdoor out of silk or dirt or plants. Then they hide behind the trapdoor and jump out when prey comes close to their burrow. They have big fangs that they use to tear apart their prey to kill it. Jumping spiders have eight eyes, six on the front and two on the back of their head. They attack prey by sneaking up on it from behind and then pounce like a cat. Jumping spiders can jump over 50 times their body length. I liked learning about these interesting arachnids, except for the eating parts of the video.