Off to See Spiders!

Author: Vena Kapoor

Illustrator: Pia Meenakshi
We are off to see spiders,
Some large as a plate, some
small as a pin.
We will see so many spiders,
Our heads will spin, spin, spin!

2
“Is that an ant or a spider?” asks Kaveri. It looks like an ant, but it has
eight legs.

“Uff, ants are insects. All insects have six legs, not eight. But you are
right, this does look like an ant!” says Shivi.

“Full marks,” says Shama. “It is an ant-mimic spider.”

Kaveri and Shivi love being with Shama. She is studying to be a wildlife
biologist, and is full of fun facts and stories about different animals and
plants.

3
4
Just then, Kaveri spots the sac spider. It's neatly rolled up inside a leaf!
“How did you find it?” asks Shivi.
“Ah! When you get to know the different signs that spiders make, you start finding them everywhere,”
Shama says, with a wink.

5
 We are off to see spiders,
Some fat, some thin, some hairy.
They have eight legs and eight eyes,
But don’t worry! They are not scary!

6
7
“Ummm, that looks like a crab!”
says Shivi, squinting at a yellow
flower.

“Ha!” Shama says. “It’s the crab

spider. And look! It has caught a
poor bee that was visiting the
flower for nectar.”

“Ah, no wonder the bee didn’t

see the spider. It’s almost the
same colour as the flower,” says
Kaveri.

8
“Look, look,” yells Shivi, pointing towards the leaves on the damp ground. A female wolf spider is carrying
her egg sac.

“And there is another one! Ooh! There are hundreds of tiny baby spiders on her back!” Shama whispers in
awe.

9
 We are off to see spiders,
Oh where, oh where, oh where?
On grass, on leaves, on flowers,
Here, there and everywhere!

10
Shivi is leaning on a tree trunk when suddenly he jumps in fright! Something scuttled by at lightning speed.

“There you are!” Shama says, moving closer. “See how well the two-tailed spider blends with the tree bark?”

11
“Here’s a spider that looks like it
has only four legs,” Kaveri says
excitedly, pointing towards a
bush. The spider has spun a
wheel-shaped web between two
plants.

“What a beautiful zigzag pattern!

This has to be the cross spider,”
Shama exclaims.

12
 We are off to see spiders,
So far we have had quite a catch!
Hey! Someone’s spinning lovely webs,
On this grassy patch.

13
 Kaveri, Shivi and Shama stumble upon
a sheet-and-tunnel web spider.

“So many webs,” Kaveri exclaims.

“They look like delicate sheets!”

“This juicy grasshopper stuck in the web

will become spider food soon. Slurp!” says Shivi.

14
“Right! It’s time to go home now,” says Shama, looking at her watch. “I have to study for my class
tomorrow.”
Kaveri and Shivi’s faces fall.
“Oh don't worry, there’s plenty to see at home as well,” says Shama.

15
Back home, Shama spies the common house spider. “Oh! There’s the
daddy-long-legs spider.”

“They are funny,” says Kaveri. “They dangle upside down and have long,
long legs.”

16
17
We saw so many wondrous spiders,
On grass, trees and flower heads.

18
Let’s crawl and look for more of them,
Will we find some under our beds?

19
 Spider Guide
Meet the spiders that Kaveri, Shivi and Shama see
on their walk.

Two-tailed spiders
These spiders get their name because of their long
spinning organs that look like a tail! With a flat
body, these spiders blend in very well on tree
trunks and walls.

Ant-mimic spiders
They behave just like ants and look like them too!
These spiders in disguise trick animals and birds
that like to eat spiders.

20
Crab spiders
With a much longer and stronger pair of front legs,
these spiders often extend their legs while waiting
to catch their food. This pose makes them look very
much like a crab!

Wolf spiders
You will often find wolf spiders scuttling on the
ground, especially where there are leaves and
shrubs. A female wolf spider carries egg sacs
attached to her spinning organs. When the sac
opens, hundreds of baby spiders climb onto her
back and stay there for several days.

21
Sac spiders
These spiders rest inside silken sacs that they make
within rolled leaves and blades of grass. They come
out of their silken retreats when they have to hunt
for food.

Sheet-and-tunnel web spiders

These spiders make beautiful and delicate sheet-
like webs. A tunnel at the end of the sheet web is
the perfect hiding place for them. They dart out
when an insect gets caught in the web.

22
Daddy-long-legs spiders
These common house spiders are found on the
ceiling, in corners of houses and sheds. Their
cobwebs may look untidy, but they catch a lot of
flying insect pests.

Cross spiders
When cross spiders are on their wheel-shaped
webs, they look like they’re making an X-shape!
They are also called signature spiders because of
the zigzag pattern they make on their webs.

23
 This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative
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Story Attribution:
This story: Off to See Spiders! is written by Vena Kapoor . © Pratham Books , 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.
Other Credits:
This book was first published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books. The development of this book has been supported by Oracle. Guest Editor: Bijal Vachharajani
Illustration Attributions:
Cover page: Kids curious about a spider on a leaf, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 2: Spider
weaving a web, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 3: Ant mimic spiders, by Pia Meenakshi ©
Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 4: Kids looking at ant-mimic spiders, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018.
Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 5: Kids observing a sac spider, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved.
Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 6: Trees in a lawn, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 7:
Kids looking in a park for something, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 8: Crab spider on a
yellow flower, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 9: Wolf spider, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham
Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 10: Silhouette of kids in a park, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights
reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 11: Kids looking at a two-tailed spider, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released
under CC BY 4.0 license.

Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC​-BY​-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute
and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.
For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The development of this book has been supported by Oracle.
 This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative
Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories ​‐
provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this,
and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link.

Illustration Attributions:
Page 12: Cross spider, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 13: Silhouettes of kids, by Pia
Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 14: Sheet & tunnel web spider, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham
Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 15: Girl waves to children , by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights
reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 16: A fan, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page
17: Kids looking at daddy-long-legs spider, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 18: House in the
midst of the forest, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 19: Boy curiously looking under a bed,
by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 20: Ant-mimic spider and two tailed spider, by Pia
Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 21: A Crab spider and a Wolf spider, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham
Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 22: sheet and tunnel web spider and sac spider, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books,
2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 23: Cross spider and Daddy long legs spider, by Pia Meenakshi © Pratham Books, 2018. Some
rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC​-BY​-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute
and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.
For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The development of this book has been supported by Oracle.
Off to See Spiders!
(English) Kaveri and Shivi go looking for spiders, along with their friend Shama.

This is a Level 3 book for children who are ready to read on their own.

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