Continued
Many insects are vegetarian
but most arachnids are predatory, feeding mainly on insects.
Unlike insects, arachnids have four pairs of walking legs,
do not possess antennae or wings, and have simple , rather
than compound eyes. The body of an arachnid is divided into
two clear regions, except in the mites and the harvestmen,
where it appears to be one piece. The front or anterior section
is the prosoma to which the four pairs of legs, the chelicerae
(the area of the mouth which holds the fangs), and the pedipalps
(for holding, and in the male copulating) are attached. I
am not going to get too involved with anatomy, if you have
any questions send me an e-mail. The back part is called
the opisthosoma or abdomen, this supports the anal tubercle,
the tracheal tubercle through which the spider breathes,
and of course, the spinners or spinnerets. Six different
types of silk gland have been identified, all of which are
found on the orb weavers, four of the glands produce different
types of silk and the other two produce a viscous liquid
which coats the silk of the web, both the spirals and the
spiral thread itself.
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