Eight-legged hunters
Spiders are not insects at all — they're ARACHNID-s with EIGHT LEGS — and this word search gathers them. You'll be finding the everyday SPIDER and its sticky WEB, the big HAIRY TARANTULA, the dangerous black WIDOW, and the many EYES they use to watch for PREY.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the web changes every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a trickier tangle once the diagonals and backwards words appear on Hard.
Webs, silk and clever traps
Spiders are amazing builders and hunters, and the words are here. They SPIN fine SILK to WEAVE a STICKY WEB, then set it as a TRAP for passing insects. Some hide in a BURROW or a silk NEST instead, waiting to SCUTTLE out at the right moment. When they catch their PREY they bite with a FANG and a drop of VENOM, and they wrap their EGG-s in a silk sac. With eight legs to CRAWL on, spiders can go almost anywhere.
Not insects — and not the baddies
The first thing to know is that a SPIDER isn't an insect. Insects have six legs and three body parts; a spider is an ARACHNID, with EIGHT LEGS, two body parts and usually eight EYES (yet most still have rather poor eyesight, feeling for trouble through vibrations instead). Their cousins include scorpions and ticks. Counting the legs is the quickest way to tell a true spider from a beetle or ant.
Spider SILK is one of nature's wonders — for its weight it's stronger than steel and stretchier than elastic, and a WEB is a beautifully engineered TRAP, with sticky threads to snare insects and dry ones for the spider to walk on safely. It's true that nearly all spiders have VENOM, but the vast majority are completely harmless to people and only a tiny few, like the black WIDOW, are dangerous. Far from being pests, spiders are brilliant helpers, quietly catching huge numbers of flies and mosquitoes — which makes them a fascinating (not scary!) nature and minibeasts topic.
Great for a minibeasts topic
It's a great fit for a nature or minibeasts lesson — Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words. Play online, print a PDF pack, or use Make Your Own to build a grid from your own spider words.
Frequently asked questions
What's in the Spiders word search?
The world of spiders — the arachnid with its eight legs and many eyes, the web, silk, spinning and weaving, plus fangs, venom, prey and traps, and kinds like the tarantula and black widow. Each puzzle uses a fresh mix.
How do spiders catch their prey?
They SPIN fine SILK to WEAVE a STICKY WEB as a TRAP, or wait in a BURROW or silk NEST, then bite their PREY with a FANG and a drop of VENOM — using EIGHT LEGS and many EYES to hunt.
Is it good for a minibeasts topic?
Great fit for a nature or minibeasts lesson. Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words.