40 Spider Quotes Appreciating These 8-Legged Creatures
Due to their eight legs, spiders are under the class of arachnids (not insects!) and are one of the most diversified groups of animals on earth. More than 45,000 species of spiders live on every continent except Antarctica. So, whether in deserts, rainforests, grasslands, or even the ocean, we can spot a spider - even in our own backyard! Our collection of spider quotes below mentions not only the incredible adaptations of these crawlies but also their role in the environment, their various symbolism in life and literature, and their presence in pop culture.
Don't look away! We promise our spider quotes and pictures are harmless.
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Best Spider Quotes
Webs are one of the first things we think of when we talk about spiders. Arachnids create their thin webs out of silk; whether you believe it or not, it is five times stronger than steel!
Researchers found that it is 1000 times thinner than our hair and made of thousands of nano strands intricately woven to make it stronger1. Scientists have explored the wonder of spider webs in numerous applications like surgical tapes and body armor. Architects like Frei Otto have also taken inspiration from nature's architects. Spiders are genuinely superior creatures in the world of biomimicry!
After reading the following spider quotes, learn more about how the critters influenced modern technology and architecture, and check out our spider facts for a deeper understanding of everything that makes the arachnids fascinating.
"The spider is a repairer. If you bash into the web of a spider, she doesn't get mad. She weaves and repairs it."
- Louise Bourgeois
"A spider is slow, but its web catches the fastest flies."
- Matshona Dhliwayo
"I never kill insects. If I see ants or spiders in the room, I pick them up and take them outside. Karma is everything."
- Holly Valance
"Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly."
- Charles Addams
"The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship."
- William Blake
Spider Quotes About The Eight-Legged Creature In The Wild
Aside from their webs, spiders have other adaptations to survive a wide range of environments. Some of the most remarkable ones they have developed are related to their ability to hunt in the wild.
First, many spider species, like the Hyllus Giganteus, have a specialized body structure that enables them to jump up to 8 times their body length, allowing them to capture unsuspecting prey quickly. To put it in perspective, it is like us jumping over a school bus!
Next, spiders have the most ingenious ways to lure their prey. Green lynx spiders can camouflage. Pirate spiders eat other spiders by tugging their webs, faking themselves as a trapped meal. Others pretend to be ants, flowers, and even dung!
Sometimes, we can even observe flying spiders; they don’t actually have wings but rather use current in the air to seemingly take flight, traveling remarkable distances or simply to the next food source.
"The next time you see a spider web, please, pause and look a little closer. You'll be seeing one of the most high-performance materials known to man."
- Cheryl Hayashi
"A spider's web is stronger than it looks. Although it is made of thin, delicate strands, the web is not easily broken."
- E.B. White
"Seamless, careful, by-the-book performance provides no evidence of what the spider’s thinking about the fly enmeshed in its web."
- John Edgar Wideman
"The greatest artist and web-designer ever is indeed a spider!"
- Munia Khan
"Spiders are born to spin; they do not need to be taught. A spider's web is its home. Some spiders use a web to catch their prey, while others prefer to hunt."
- Kay De Silva
"Like delicate lace,
So the threads intertwine,
Oh, gossamer web
Of wond'rous design!
Such beauty and grace
Wild nature produces...
Ughh, look at the spider
Suck out that bug's juices!"
- Bill Watterson
"Spider venom comes in many forms. It can often take a long while to discover the full effects of the bite. Naturalists have pondered this for years: there are spiders whose bite can cause the place bitten to rot and to die, sometimes more than a year after it was bitten. As to why spiders do this, the answer is simple. It's because spiders think this is funny, and they don't want you ever to forget them."
- Neil Gaiman
"Most spiders eat and remake their webs every night."
- Alice Oswald
"Our souls sit close and silently within, And their own web from their own entrails spin; And when eyes meet far off, our sense is such, That, spider-like, we feel the tenderest touch."
- John Dryden
Metaphorical Quotes About Spiders And Their Webs
Due to the intricacy and strength of spider webs, we often use them to represent the complex and intricate connections between people, events, and ideas.
Since female spiders are usually stronger and larger than males, the critters are also connected with women, from the Egyptian goddess Neith who spins destiny, to Japan's spider princess, who lures and eats samurai warriors.
And despite the negative connotations often attached to these creatures, they can symbolize good fortune, as they should since they prey on insects. In Ancient China, they call spiders ximu, which means happy insects. Even in modern times, Chinese people still attach the critters to good fortune, specifically wealth and prosperity.
Explore more about arachnids' cultural depictions after browsing the spider quotes below.
"Fiction is like a spider's web, attached ever so slightly perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners. Often the attachment is scarcely perceptible."
- Virginia Woolf
"Experience is a kind of huge spider web of the finest silken threads suspended in the chamber of consciousness, and catching every airborne particle in its tissue."
- Henry James
"The entire universe is one ecosystem, similar to a spider web— if one part is touched, the entire net shimmers."
- Matthew Flickstein
"At times, life is just like a web. You fall, and a spider called accident, at the center, takes you to the hell."
- Dos Corazone
"Poetry is a fresh morning spider web telling a story of moonlit hours of weaving and waiting during a night."
- Carl Sandburg
"A wandering mind is as venomous as a wandering spider."
- Thinkredible
"My brain more busy than the laboring spider Weaves tedious snares to trap mine enemies."
- William Shakespeare
"Written laws are like spider's webs; they will catch, it is true, the weak and poor, but would be torn in pieces by the rich and powerful."
- Anacharsis
"Don't be like a spider spinning a lonely web and let life's opportunities pass you by."
- Ranjeeta Nath Ghai
"If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive."
- Spanish Proverb
"Words are like the spiders web: a shelter for the clever ones and a trap for the not so clever."
- Madagascar Proverb
"When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion."
- Ethiopian Proverbs
"He avoided the fly and swallowed the spider."
- Portuguese Proverb
"To destroy the cobweb, destroy the spider."
- Maltese Proverb
Famous Spider Quotes In Films And Books
Spiders' reputation since ancient times has found its way into popular culture. Due to their ability to evoke fear, they have been top choices in horror films and books.
Of course, one of the most famous is Stan Lee's comic book, Spider-Man, which began publication back in 1962. The superhero has endeared his readers and viewers thanks to the character's superhuman abilities and moral compass. From blockbuster films to ever-advancing games, we can see the influence of the wall-crawling friendly neighborhood hero.
We also have the world wide web, Charlotte’s web, and even clothing brands sporting their name or inspired by their creations.
Check other spiders from other films and books in our spider quotes below.
"Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’ This is my gift, my curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man."
- Peter Parker, Spider-Man
"We all have powers of one kind or another. In our own way, we are all Spider-Man. And we’re all counting on you."
- Mary Jane Watson, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
"You made me your friend and in doing so, you made a spider beautiful to everyone in that barn"
- Charlotte the Spider, Charlotte's Web
"Why spiders? Why can't it be 'follow the butterflies'?!"
- Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
"I am not loved at all. And yet I do nothing but good. All day long I catch flies and mosquitos in my webs. I am a decent person."
- Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach
"It was no mean trick doing the wiring with those mittens on. But I managed it and crawled out, batting spiders into the shadows. I could hear a thud as they hit the floor joists, then a scuttling sound, then, worst of all, the silence of spiders."
- Bailey White, Mama Makes Up Her Mind: And Other Dangers of Southern Living
Funny Spider Quotes About The 8-Legged Creepy Crawly Creatures
Have you ever screamed your lungs out because of a spider? I do! If you spot a spider inside your house, the best way to safely remove it is to use an empty jar and a piece of cardboard. First, gently slide the jar over the spider and press the card against the rims. Then carefully secure the spider and release it in your garden. Ensure to remove cobwebs and use natural repellants made from peppermint oils to keep the crawly creatures away.
Our eight-legged friends are still living creatures with a purpose. So while reading our relatable spider quotes below, let's remember to treat them with kindness despite our fear of them. We don’t all have to love spiders, but we can appreciate them all the same.
"What has eight legs, fangs, and hair all over? Is it a monster? No, it's a spider!"
- Laura Marsh
"If I see a spider in my room, I gotta sleep on the couch for, like, two days."
- Jayson Tatum
"It's spider season. Every year, right about now, thousands of the godless eight-legged bastards emerge from the bowels of hell—or the garden, whichever's nearest—with the sole intention of tormenting humankind."
- Charlie Brooker
"Arachnids are pure evil. They're like a cigarette manufacturer or a terrorist. They're an organized religion on eight legs."
- Davey Havok
"If I see a spider in the flat, I try to get a cup and a piece of paper and throw it out of the window. I can't kill them because they're good for catching flies."
- Matt Smith
"If you can feel like a good man in your 40s, you can feel like a better man in your 50s, a Superman in your 60s, and maybe a Spider-Man in your 70s."
- Tom Hanks
| 1 | Wang, Qijue & Schniepp, Hannes. (2018). Strength of Recluse Spider’s Silk Originates from Nanofibrils. ACS Macro Letters. 7. 1364-1370. 10.1021/acsmacrolett.8b00678. |
