Spiders belong to the class Arachnida which is part of the sub-kingdom Metazoa, that is until some scientist decides to redo the the classification system. They are also part of the phylum Arthropoda, this word is derived from the Greek and it means "jointed foot". The earliest of all Arthropods is thought to be the trilobite, which is an extinct marine animal, click the link if you want to know more. The first Arachnid is thought to have been a Scorpion like creature from about 500,000,000 years ago. Today there are more than a million classified species of insects, with more being discovered every day. The Arachnids now number about 80,000, with no doubt many more yet to find.

The spiders above are the most common in the garden and the home, with a couple there just for interest value.

Britain has more than 600 species of spiders, all of them harmless to man. They prey on other creatures, have eight legs and a body divided into two parts: a combined head and thorax and a large abdomen. Most spiders have eight eyes, arranged in two rows of four.

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