You are rarely more than six feet away from a spider.

Spiders live everywhere, from Alpine peaks to deserts—even underwater. There are more individual spiders, and more spider species, than in any other group of predators.

Their sheer numbers, coupled with their enormous appetites, make spiders the planet's dominant terrestrial predators. By controlling insect populations, they play a vital role in maintaining the balance of nature.

Special adaptations—including spinning silk, producing venom and using sophisticated hunting tactics—have contributed to the spider's extraordinary evolutionary success.

As the strongest natural fiber known to man, spider silk is specialized for tasks such as building webs and trapping prey.

Field journaling and drawing are important techniques for arachnologists, who use specialized microscopes, cameras, dissecting instruments and illustrations to study spiders in depth.

Collecting spiders involves a variety of techniques, including sweep nets, funnel and pitfall traps, and collecting by hand.

Well-maintained collections are crucial to ongoing scientific work. Over 36,000 species of spider have been described, but they represent only a third to a half of those that still await discovery.