What you may not know about spiders

1. Most common spiders in Missouri are:

a. The brown recluse spider.

b. The common house spider.

c. The wolf spider, jumping spider and grass spider.

d. The black widow spider.

2. Brown recluse and black widows are the only two poisonous spiders in Missouri.

3. According to a study done several decades ago, many people in Missouri have antibodies against brown recluse spiders in their bloodstream.

4. Spiders have between zero and eight eyes.

5. Each species has a unique courtship dance. The spiders wave their legs and tap them on the ground in a particular pattern to attract the opposite sex.

6. Wolf spiders have maternal instincts to greatly improve their young’s chance of survival. The mother wolf spider, for example, carries her babies on her back until they are big enough to survive on their own.

Source: Jan Weaver, director of environmental studies at MU