Beyond the myths and fears, the world wide web of spiders – and why they matter

In northern Karnataka, there is a myth that the only way to avoid death from a fatal bite of a tarantula, a hairy-legged, nocturnal spider, is by stretching the spider’s eight legs and placing a stone on it. While it is true that a tarantula’s bite can be extremely painful, the chances of getting bitten by these spiders, that usually live in burrows, are rare.

Folklore from southern Andhra Pradesh says that if a house harbours spider webs the size of an elephant’s head, it foretells the death of one of its members. In reality, however, spiders are known to offer vital housekeeping services, such as feeding on mosquitoes and cockroaches, preventing the spread of diseases.

In Gujarat, it is believed that a spider web in a home would lead to financial misfortune and the household will not prosper, says arachnologist Dhruv Prajapati, managing trustee of Web Of Nature Research foundation. “Spiders are perceived as evil creatures that bring bad luck. It is ironic because the state has Girnar hill, a famous pilgrim centre for Lord Dattatreya who named spider to be one of his gurus,” Prajapati says.

Spiders are an order of arachnids that have been around on Earth for over 300 million years. These...

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