Questions people actually ask

Spiders are arachnids, not insects. They have eight legs instead of six, and a body in two parts instead of three. Britannica: Spider Spiders have four pairs of legs (insects have three), two main body sections (insects have three), no wings, and simple eyes rather than an insect’s two compound eyes. British Arachnological Society factsheet: Essential spider info

The World Spider Catalog, kept at the Natural History Museum in Bern, lists 54,239 spider species in 139 families. World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern · checked 30 Oct 2026

There are 680 spider species established in Great Britain and Ireland (2025 checklist). Lavery 2025, The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland checklist, Arachnology 20(3) (British Arachnological Society) · checked 30 Oct 2026

Manx Wildlife Trust says 235 to 240 spider species have been recorded on the Isle of Man. Manx Wildlife Trust: Manx State of Nature 2024, invertebrates · checked 30 Oct 2026

Of the 650 or so species of spider in the UK, only about 12 have been recorded biting people, and only two or three have given a significant or unpleasant bite. Natural History Museum, London: Spiders in your home · checked 30 Oct 2026 Bites usually happen only when a spider is defending itself. Few spiders have fangs that can get through our skin, or any inclination to try. British Arachnological Society: Spider bites

The chance of being bitten by a noble false widow is very low, and most bites are no worse than a wasp sting. These spiders are not aggressive and only bite when threatened. British Arachnological Society: Noble False Widow Spider bites, the BAS view (23 April 2026) False widows bite only when trapped or squashed, often in clothing. Natural History Museum, London: Invasion of the giant spiders? Not quite

In autumn, males of many species reach adulthood and wander about looking for females. That’s why spider sightings always peak in autumn. Natural History Museum, London: Invasion of the giant spiders? Not quite Spiders aren’t getting bigger, and there aren’t really more of them: we just see more when warm autumns keep our windows and doors open. Natural History Museum, London: Invasion of the giant spiders? Not quite

Want a spider out of the house? Catch it under a glass, slide a card underneath and put it outside. The Wildlife Trusts: False widow spider ‘The kindest thing anyone can do is let them outside,’ says Stuart Hine of the Natural History Museum. Natural History Museum, London: Invasion of the giant spiders? Not quite

The UK’s largest spider is the cardinal spider (Tegenaria parietina). Males have been recorded with a 12 cm leg span. Natural History Museum, London: Spiders in your home

The goliath birdeater, a tarantula from the Amazon region, is the largest arachnid by mass. Britannica: Spider (size and distribution) The Australian Museum gives the goliath spider’s body length as up to 9 cm and its leg span as up to 28 cm. Australian Museum: Spiders

Many spiders live only a few months as adults, but female large house spiders can live for a couple of years. British Arachnological Society factsheet: Essential spider info

All spiders make silk, but only about half of all spider species build webs to catch prey. Britannica: Spider (spiderwebs and classification)

Small spiders and young ones can let out silk threads that catch the wind and carry them long distances. This is called ballooning. Britannica: Spider (size and distribution) Charles Darwin wondered how hundreds of spiders landed on HMS Beagle far out at sea on a calm day. University of Bristol, 5 July 2018: Spiders go ballooning on electric fields