1. This spider was trapped in tree resin about 20 million years ago. Over, time the resin fossilized into amber, preserving the animal inside. © AMNH\D. Grimaldi

    This spider was trapped in tree resin about 20 million years ago. Over, time the resin fossilized into amber, preserving the animal inside.

    © AMNH\D. Grimaldi

  2. Orb weaver spiders spin large webs that often contain striking designs. Author E.B. White, who consulted with a Museum curator while writing Charlotte’s Web, named the main character Charlotte A. Cavatica after a common orb weaver, Araneus cavaticus. Orb weaver (Argiope sp.) as seen in Spiders Alive! © AMNH\R. Mickens

    Orb weaver spiders spin large webs that often contain striking designs. Author E.B. White, who consulted with a Museum curator while writing Charlotte’s Web, named the main character Charlotte A. Cavatica after a common orb weaver, Araneus cavaticus.

    Orb weaver (Argiope sp.) as seen in Spiders Alive! © AMNH\R. Mickens

  3. The wolf spider doesn’t rely on a web. It searches for food on foot. See it in Spiders Alive!, now open.  © AMNH/R. Mickens

    The wolf spider doesn’t rely on a web. It searches for food on foot.

    See it in Spiders Alive!, now open. 

    © AMNH/R. Mickens

  4. With over 1 million specimens, the Museum’s spider collection is the largest in the world. It serves as a growing resource for scientists worldwide. Find out more about the collection behind Spiders Alive! after the link: http://bit.ly/OD4NCf

    With over 1 million specimens, the Museum’s spider collection is the largest in the world. It serves as a growing resource for scientists worldwide. Find out more about the collection behind Spiders Alive! after the link: http://bit.ly/OD4NCf

  5. Today, Museum staff hoisted a 20-foot inflatable spider onto the front entrance of the Museum. The arachnid will greet visitors during the new Spiders Alive! exhibition opening July 28. ©AMNH/D. Finnin

    Today, Museum staff hoisted a 20-foot inflatable spider onto the front entrance of the Museum. The arachnid will greet visitors during the new Spiders Alive! exhibition opening July 28.

    ©AMNH/D. Finnin

  6. This Gooty sapphire spider (Poecilotheria metallica) is one of the many live spiders that will be on view in our upcoming exhibition Spiders Alive!.  Photo by Rod

    This Gooty sapphire spider (Poecilotheria metallica) is one of the many live spiders that will be on view in our upcoming exhibition Spiders Alive!. 

    Photo by Rod

  7. An iconic sculpture by the late French-born American artist Louise Bourgeois offers a hint of what’s to come in our upcoming exhibition Spiders Alive!, which opens July 28. This particularly striking bronze specimen called Spider 1 is roughly 4 feet in diameter and now on view in the Grand Gallery on the first floor. Photo: Louise Bourgeois; SPIDER I, 1995; Bronze, dark and polished patina, wall piece; 50 x 46 x 12 1/4”; 127 x 116.8 x 31.1 cm; Courtesy Cheim & Read and Hauser & Wirth; Photo: Allan Finkelman, © Louise Bourgeois Trust

    An iconic sculpture by the late French-born American artist Louise Bourgeois offers a hint of what’s to come in our upcoming exhibition Spiders Alive!, which opens July 28. This particularly striking bronze specimen called Spider 1 is roughly 4 feet in diameter and now on view in the Grand Gallery on the first floor.

    Photo: Louise Bourgeois; SPIDER I, 1995; Bronze, dark and polished patina, wall piece; 50 x 46 x 12 1/4”; 127 x 116.8 x 31.1 cm; Courtesy Cheim & Read and Hauser & Wirth; Photo: Allan Finkelman, © Louise Bourgeois Trust