Does Spider Belong to Insect?
WouterThe spider is a member of the arachnid family. Arachnids are an important group of animals that includes insects, mites, crustaceans and other types of invertebrates.
There are hundreds of different species of spiders. These creatures range in size from tiny ones that are under a millimeter in length to large ones that can reach 25 feet. Most are predators, but a few are also herbivorous. Besides being a source of food for other species, spiders help to control the number of insect populations.
Both insects and spiders are invertebrates, and both share a common ancestry. The difference between these two groups is the structure of their bodies. Arachnids and insects are part of the phylum Arthropoda, a family that includes animals such as insects, worms, crustaceans, mites and ticks.
The arachnid family shares its ancestry with the hexapod group. The hexapod group is made up of insects, and all of them have six legs. The body of an arachnid is divided into two segments, the head and the thorax. In addition, there are spinnerets in the abdomen that produce silk.
The most common differences between insects and spiders are their body shape and anatomy. Spiders have eight legs, but insects only have six. Moreover, spiders don’t have wings. In addition, they don’t have true blood. They don’t have veins to transport blood. However, some spiders have good vision, and their eyes are sensitive to light and air.
Although both insects and spiders have three main body sections, insects are more diverse in the types of animals they prey upon. For example, cockroaches, planthoppers, stink bugs and cicadas are all insect species. A few species of spiders also prey on birds.
