Arachnology is the

scientific Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

study of

arachnid Arachnids are arthropods in the Class (biology), class Arachnida () of the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, opiliones, harvestmen, Solifugae, camel spiders, Amblypygi, wh ...

s, which comprise

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

s and related invertebrates such as

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

s, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, ticks, and

mites Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as eac ...

. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of spiders alone ( order Araneae) is known as araneology. The word "

arachnology Arachnology is the science, scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, Pseudoscorpionida, pseudoscorpions, Opiliones, harvestmen, Tick, ticks, and mites. Those who study spiders and other a ...

" derives from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

words , ''arachnē'', "spider"; and , ''-logia'', "the study of a particular subject". The greek word for "spider" itself refers to Arachne, the female protagonist of an ancient tale of the

Greek Mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

Arachnology as a science

Arachnologists are primarily responsible for classifying arachnids and studying aspects of their biology. In the popular imagination, they are sometimes referred to as spider experts. Disciplines within arachnology include naming species and determining their evolutionary relationships to one another (taxonomy and systematics), studying how they interact with other members of their species and/or their environment ( behavioural ecology), or how they are distributed in different regions and habitats ( faunistics). Other arachnologists perform research on the

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

or physiology of arachnids, including the venom of spiders and scorpions. Others study the impact of spiders in agricultural ecosystems and whether they can be used as biological control agents.

Subdisciplines

Arachnology can be broken down into several specialties, including: *

acarology Acarology (from Ancient Greek /, , a type of mite; and , -logy, ) is the study of mites and ticks, the animals in the order (biology), order Mite, Acarina. It is a subfield of arachnology, a subdiscipline of the field of zoology. A zoologist spec ...

– the study of ticks and

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as eac ...

s * araneology – the study of spiders * scorpiology – the study of

Arachnological societies

Arachnologists are served by a number of scientific societies, both national and international in scope. Their main roles are to encourage the exchange of ideas between researchers, to organise meetings and congresses, and in a number of cases, to publish

academic journals An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the dissemination, scr ...

. Some are also involved in science outreach programs, such as the ''European spider of the year'', which raise awareness of these animals among the general public. International * International Society of Arachnology (ISA)
website
Africa *African Arachnological Society (AFRAS)
website
Asia *Arachnological Society of Japan (ASJ
website
*Asian Society of Arachnology (ASA
website
*Indian Society of Arachnolog
website
* Iranian Arachnological Society (IAS
website
Australasia * Australasian Arachnological Societybr>website
Europe *Aracnofilia – Associazione Italiana di Aracnologi
website
*Arachnologia Belgica – Belgian Arachnological Society (ARABEL
website
*Arachnologische Gesellschaft (AraGes
website
*Association Francaise d'Arachnologie (AsFrA

* British Arachnological Society (BAS
website
*Czech Arachnological Societ
website
*European Society of Arachnology (ESA
website
*Grupo Ibérico de Aracnologia (Iberian Peninsula
website
*Magyar Arachnolgia – Hungarian Arachnology North America * American Arachnological Society (AAS
website

Arachnological journals

Scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...

s devoted to the study of arachnids include: *''Acarologia'' *''Acta Arachnologica'' – published by the Arachnological Society of Japan *''Arachnida: Rivista Aracnologica Italiana'' *''Arachnology'' – published by the British Arachnological Society *''Arachnology Letters'' – published by the Arachnologische Gesellschaft *''International Journal of Acarology'' *'' Journal of Arachnology'' – published by the American Arachnological Society *''Revista Ibérica de Aracnología'' – published by the Grupo Ibérico de Aracnología *''Revue Arachnologique'' *'' Serket''

Popular arachnology

In the 1970s, arachnids – particularly tarantulas – started to become popular as exotic pets. Many tarantulas consequently became more widely known by their common names, such as Mexican redknee tarantula for '' Brachypelma hamorii''. Various societies now focus on the husbandry, care, study, and captive breeding of tarantulas, and other arachnids. They also typically produce journals or newsletters with articles and advice on these subjects. *British Tarantula Society (BTS
website
*Deutsche Arachnologische Gesellschaft (DeArGe
website
*The American Tarantula Society (ATS
website

References

External information links

International Society of Arachnology

{{Authority control Spiders and humans Subfields of zoology Subfields of arthropodology