The Order Araneae or Spiders…

…has several species represented in the Widlife Garden, spread over a handful of Families as shown below.

There are nearly 700 species of spider (Araneae) in Great Britain and as we all know they have 4 pairs of legs instead of the 3 pairs found on insects. Other differences include a body comprising of two parts and the lack of metamorphosis. The young appear as whole, if smaller, versions of the adults straight from the egg. There is no larval stage from which a metamorphosis process is required. Spiders simply grow and mature sexually.