Arachnophilia

My love for spiders

I, like most people, grew up terrified of spiders, but I also had a fascination with them because they are complex, beautiful and mysterious creatures. As I grew up I became more interested in these little (well, not always little) beauties and decided I'd take the steps to remove my fear of them.
I started researching everything I could about spiders, and realized that they aren't as scary as most people think. I began searching for spiders in the outdoors, as well as, in my house, and observed their value to our lives. Now I'm trying to pass that love to other, especially my daughter. I don't want her growing up scared of something so wonderful. We even plan on getting our first pet tarantula in the very near future, a Euathlus sp. red.

My top five favorite types of spiders

Tarantulas (Theraphosidae)
Jumping spiders (Salticidae)
Wolf spiders (Lycosidae)
Mirror Spiders (Thwaitesia argentiopunctata)
Ogre Faced Spiders (Deinopidae)

Features

Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all orders of organisms.

Benefits

Spiders are beneficial predators and serve a significant role in keeping populations of many insect pests in check. Spiders are oftentimes the most important biological control of pests in and around homes, yards, gardens and crops. Spiders use various tactics to capture prey.

Learn about spiders on wikipedia
Read about other spider enthusiasts