A week after arguing snakes aren't so scary, the Missouri Department of Conservation made the same argument for spiders.
"We're close to Halloween and so many people find spiders pretty spooky," MDC naturalist Jordanya Raos said. "When I started working for the MDC, I was terrified of spiders. But the more you learn about spiders, the less scary they become."
Raos noted while some people have a true phobia of spiders, for many, the fear is learned. People pick it up from their families, or from media (movies, exaggerated news stories, edited photos and so on) that depict spiders as dangerous and hostile to humans.
"My grandparents, my parents, my family, they were scared of spiders," Raos said.
Raos began to get over her own fear at 19, when she was taking a group of children on a nature hike and walked right through a spider web. The spider - one in the "Micrathena" genus, a type of orb weaver with spikes on its rear - stuck to her glasses, looming large in her vision.
"In that moment, I panicked," she said. "But I had a group of 20 kids behind me, and it was my job to help them understand nature. I knew if I panicked (visibly), I might pass my fear on to them."
So when one of the children asked her if she was scared, she told them she was just surprised.
"I took off my glasses and we all looked at the spider together," Raos said. "I realized, that spider is not interested in me, it just wanted to stay safe and eat."
As Raos continued her education, she learned more about what makes spiders unique. Unlike insects, all spiders have eight legs. Insects have three body segments: A head, a thorax (the center segment where their legs attach) and an abdomen (the rearmost portion). Spiders only have two segments: a cephalothorax (combining both their head and thorax) and an abdomen.
Spiders also have special silk-producing glands located on their abdomen that allow them to spin webs, safely descend from high places and bundle up their prey.
In fact, in some species, male spiders wrap their prey in silk and present it to a female as a "nuptial gift" before attempting to mate.
"She has all that extra work to do, she needs extra energy to lay eggs, and if he doesn't give her a gift she might eat him," Raos said.
Though related - they're both in class Arachnida - opiliones (commonly known as daddy long-legs or harvestmen) aren't actually spiders, Raos said. They have a single body segment, combining all three parts into one. Nor is it true that they're the more venomous than all spiders, despite a persistent rumor to the contrary, she added. Not a single known species of opiliones possesses venom glands.
Spiders, on the other hand, do possess venom glands.
"They need venom to kill and digest their prey," Raos explained.
But the venom of most spiders is too weak to affect humans, unless the human happens to be highly allergic to spider venom.
Missouri spiders
In Missouri, only two types of spiders pose a risk to humans, and even they bite humans only rarely. In fact, spiders are often unfairly blamed for skin lesions that were actually caused by staph infections or other skin diseases. One 2011 study found 4 percent of lesions patients believed to be caused by spiders were actually spider bites.
That said, Raos explained, it's wise to be able to identify Missouri's two more-venomous spiders so you and your family members can give them extra space and seek appropriate treatment in case of a real bite.
The two spiders are brown recluses and black widows.
Brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa): Typically a nondescript brown with little hair, these spiders are identifiable by a darker brown, violin-shaped marking on their cephalothorax. The violin's neck points toward their abdomen. Brown recluses lack the stripes that identify similar spiders such as wolf spiders. These spiders are often found among old cardboard boxes and other clutter.
"If I have a boot that's been sitting on the floor for a month, I shake it off before I put it on," Raos said.
Black widows: Missouri is home to two species of black widows, the southern (Latrodectus mactans) and northern (Latrodectus variolus) black widows. Both species have a bulbous abdomen and long, spindly legs, and both are shiny and hairless. Females of both are identifiable by a red hourglass marking on the underside of their abdomen. Female northern black widows may also have red and white stripes or spots on top of their abdomen. Males are smaller and also have red and white markings on a black background.
Raos said black widows build disorganized "cobwebby" webs and usually live in corners, inside hollow logs and other tight places.
"This spider is not that aggressive," she said, showing off one she keeps as an educational animal.
Raos also highlighted a few of Missouri's other spiders - spiders whose venom cannot hurt humans. She noted most large spiders can hypothetically bite a human if roughly handled, but none see humans as potential prey.
"Most Missouri spiders are harmless," she emphasized. "They're not interested in you."
Missouri's home to scores of spider species, but a few of the most commonly seen or recognizable include:
Jumping spiders (family Salticidae): With fuzzy bodies and big eyes, the many species of jumping spider often strike humans as cuter than other types of spiders. Jumping spiders don't build webs. Instead, they use their amazing eyesight to spot and hunt insects and other small prey.
Orb weavers (family Araneidae): Orb weavers build large, circular webs and catch many flying insects. The most recognizable member of the family is Argiope aurantia (sometimes called the golden orb-weaver, yellow garden spider or zigzag spider), a large and striking spider with black and yellow markings. Its webs feature a white zigzag of siilk down the middle. Missouri also has several species of Micrathena, the spike-covered spider Raos encountered in the woods.
Common house spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum): These spiders have a similar body shape to black widows, but are mottled brown and white instead of black and red. They're frequently found indoors in cobwebbed corners. "They really are great pest control," Raos said.
The Missouri tarantula (Aphonopelma hentzi): Though not as common as the others, this spider is notable as it's Missouri's largest and the state's only native tarantula species. Their legs can span more than 4 inches, and their bodies and limbs are thick, brown and furry. Raos said they're often seen crossing roads near glades at this time of year. The spiders migrate to find mates in fall.
Raos brought out a live Missouri tarantula for her virtual viewers.
"Notice how carefully she walks," Raos said. "She sticks out those little legs, and she feels around. She's actually very delicate and could get hurt if she were to fall off something."
Raos noted the MDC is happy to help people identify spiders they find. Visit your local MDC office or conservation center, or submit a picture online at mdc.mo.gov/contact-engage/contact-us.
Learning about spiders' place in the ecosystem also helped tame Raos' fear.
"They're amazing and they're important," Raos said.
Spiders eat many pest insects that carry diseases, plague crops and invade homes. In turn, they're food for birds, toads and other creatures.
"We want everything to be in balance," she explained.
With Raos' fear of spiders behind her, she's learned to see their beauty. In fact, spiders were involved in one of the most magical moments of her life, she said. In October 2015, she was canoeing down a creek when movement caught her eye.
"I notice there are spiders everywhere, and I look up and there are spiders ballooning across the sky, literally thousands," she said.
Ballooning is a practice used by small spiders to help them traverse large distances quickly. They spin out a long thread of silk and allow it to catch the breeze, then they drift through the air wherever the wind takes them.
What once might've been a skin-crawling sight instead filled her with arachnid-inspired awe.
To learn about upcoming MDC virtual events, visit mdc.mo.gov/events.