Eight-Legged Wonders: The Surprising Lives of Spiders

An encounter with a spider will never be the same again ...

This warm-hearted book offers fascinating science and captivating storytelling to persuade readers to fall in love with--or at least tolerate--these eight-legged wonders.

Eight-Legged Wonders unveils the remarkable lives of one of the most misunderstood and maligned creatures on the planet: the spider. With over 50,000 species, spiders play vital roles in our ecosystems and the vast majority are harmless to humans. With this in mind, shouldn’t we at least try to set aside our creepy-crawly associations, and cultivate a deeper appreciation for these truly wonderful beings?

Eight-Legged Wonders helps us do just that. In this affectionate and surprisingly giddy ode to spiders, James O’Hanlon, a scientist and spider expert, introduces spiders that we may never have noticed before, including spiders that cosplay as ants, balloon through the air, and scuba-dive. He describes the peacock spider’s colorful dances and the Portia jumping spider’s cunning hunting techniques. He dispels bite concerns, highlights groundbreaking research using spiders for human benefit, and aims to shift perceptions, ultimately revealing spiders as truly remarkable beings worthy of our admiration.

James O’Hanlon has traveled around Australia and the globe uncovering the secret lives of insects and spiders. He has published more than 30 academic papers and his popular science writing has appeared in ABC News, Australian Geographic, The Conversation, and Biosphere Magazine. He is an award-winning science communicator and was the 2021 recipient of the Varuna-New England Writers’ Centre fellowship.