A sudden glimpse of eight thin legs slowly moving across a wall is enough to make many people freeze, jump back or reach for a shoe.

In an instant, even the calmest room can fill with a rush of panic.

For many people, spiders and other arachnids can trigger immediate fear. But Wyatt Hoback, an Oklahoma State University entomology professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, said the eight-legged creatures are misunderstood, nonaggressive and far more beneficial than dangerous.

“Spiders are actually the heroes, but they are misunderstood,” Hoback said.

Understanding common fears and misconceptions about arachnids is part of what students learn about in Hoback’s classroom.

OSU is one of three institutions nationwide offering a dedicated course in arachnid biology, providing hands-on learning with spiders, scorpions, daddy long-legs and ticks, Hoback said.

“I would recommend the course to people who are scared of arachnids,” said Avanelle Hosey, entomology senior. “Arachnids are way more interesting than the media makes them out to be.”

For many in the course, the most significant shift is overcoming the fear, Hoback said.

“Students either love or hate arachnids,” he said.

One of his students would visibly shake anytime she encountered one, Hoback said.

“By the end of the semester, she could handle a spider at any given point,” he added.

Roughly 25 students enroll in the 3,000-level course each fall semester, taught when spider populations are most visible.

Hoback said that as part of the course, he sends students across campus to collect specimens and bring them into the laboratory.

“The lab portions are my favorite part of the course,” Hosey said. “I learned about doing observations in a lab setting.”

Students collect and work directly with the arachnids. Hands-on labs remain the central point of the experience, Hosey said.

“The students’ first lab is to go around campus looking at where spiders live,” Hoback said. “We can find spiders in about any building.”

Students conduct behavioral trials and observe spider interactions in controlled settings, including placing a jumping spider in front of a mirror and recording its reaction, Hoback said.

“One of the biggest threats to spiders is other spiders,” Hoback said. “You can record awesome behaviors right in the lab and get to know the spiders better.”

Understanding the subtle defensive behaviors is one example of what students explore in the classroom, Hoback said.

“When a spider encounters another spider, they both try to act big,” Hoback said. “They wave their front arms as a defensive mechanism.”

In class, students race wolf and cellar spiders, comparing their speeds, Hoback said. Additionally, they test the strength of garden and house spiders’ silk.

Hoback has taught the course for three years and has refined the labs during that time, he said.

To help students better navigate the labs and communicate their observations, Lauren Osborn, a former OSU doctoral student, developed resources for the course.

Today, Osborn is an emerging writing lecturer at Gettysburg College.

“Dr. Hoback and I created the lab handbook and guided students on how to write about arachnids,” Osborn said. “I have always had an interest in spiders since I was a kid,” she added.

Unlike many kids, Osborn said, she recognized early on that spiders are gentle creatures.

“Dr. Hoback and I nerded out about how cool spiders are and how little people know about them since it is a really understudied field,” she said.

While many fear spiders, only about 9% of people have a reaction to a spider bite, Osborn said.

Spiders can damage their fangs if they try to bite people, and most bites only happen when someone accidentally presses against an unsuspecting spider, Hoback said.

“They are not aggressive to people,” Hosey said. “That’s them telling you, ‘Hey, you’re freaking me out.’”

Though arachnid research trails behind insect research, Hoback said he hopes the course inspires future entomologists and scientists.

Students in the course discover the scale of spiders’ impact globally and gain a better understanding of their ecological importance, Osborn said.

“Spiders, worldwide, eat the same amount of meat as all humans,” Hoback said. “That is 400 million tons a year.”

Beyond their ecological impact, spider biology also offers practical benefits. Arachnid venom has medical and industrial applications, he added.

“Researchers extracted venom from a spider and developed an insecticide from it,” Hoback said. “It’s a natural insecticide that goes away quickly.”

Students also learn about the benefits of arachnid venom, he added.

“The most valuable liquid on the planet is deathstalker scorpion venom,” Hoback said. “That liquid is worth about $22 million per gallon.”

Deathstalker scorpion venom is used for cancer research treatments, he added.

Arachnid research extends beyond venom, Osborn said.

“There are research opportunities in laboratories,” Osborn said. “Students can learn about spider silk and its qualities that help develop new technologies,” she added.

The chemicals inside the spider’s body allow it to spin a 2-mile continuous string of silk, Hoback said. Researchers study spider silk as a source of inspiration for new technologies and materials, including strong fibers used in protective gear, he added.

Having direct interactions with these anthropoids changes many students' perceptions, Hoback said.

“I hope more people will pay attention to spiders,” Hoback said. “We need them.”

Story by Griffin Behrens | Cowboy Journal