SPIDERS ARE INSECTS
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Although spiders and insects are evolutionary cousins, the two are very different creatures. Both spiders and insects, such as beetles and flies, have several similarities, including their comparable size, diet, habitat and lack of vertebrae. However, the two belong to different animal classes: Insecta (insects) and Arachnida (spiders). The biggest difference – and one of the distinguishing features separating them – is the number of legs each possesses. Spiders famously sport four pairs of legs, whereas insects only have three pairs. The body of a spider is also split into two segments – the abdomen and the cephalothorax, which is a combination of a head and thorax – whereas insects have three fully segmented body parts – the abdomen, thorax and head. Finally, there is no known species of spider that has developed wings, whereas almost all insects either have winged members of their species, such as ants, or metamorphose wings later on in life, like caterpillars.