Life Cycle of a Spider

The first stage is the egg stage. A female spider lays thousands of eggs. The eggs are wrapped in a silk egg sac. The eggs hatch in a short time.

The second stage is the egg sac stage. The egg sac is made of silk and is usually white. Sometimes the female spider carries the sac on her back or in her mouth. Sometimes she hides the sac under a rock or attached to a plant.

The third stage is the spiderlings stage. Spiderlings hatch from the eggs. They look like tiny adults. Some spiderlings are on their own and get no help from their mother. Other spiderlings climb onto their mother's back after hatching where she feeds them. Spiderlings jump off their mother's back when they are ready.

The last stage of a spider is the adult stage. Spiders sometimes die right after their spiderlings hatch. Adult spiders lay their eggs before Winter. Adult spiders spin webs to catch or hunt their prey.