Spider Coloring Pages

Spiders have a way of turning up everywhere, and so do the ones on these spider coloring pages: in the garden, on the windowsill, in a birdhouse, on a bicycle wheel and on top of the Christmas tree. Some are cute enough for the youngest children, some are drawn like real spiders, and the webs make some of the most satisfying patterns there are to color.

The friendly spiders sit on a spotted mushroom, a daisy and a jack o'lantern, dangle over a teacup, hug a heart balloon, climb out of a flower pot and hang between two candlesticks on the mantel. The real spiders are drawn with care: a fuzzy jumping spider in close-up with its big round eyes, a hairy tarantula crossing cracked dry ground, a trapdoor spider under the lid of its burrow, a peacock spider showing off its patterned fan, a water spider inside an air bubble among the reeds, and a mother spider carrying her babies on her back through the autumn leaves.

The webs deserve pages of their own. One hangs heavy with dewdrops between fence posts, another drips with rain, others stretch across a window, an iron gate covered in ivy, a curving staircase, the door of a birdhouse, the spokes of a bicycle wheel and even the antlers of a deer. A spider weaves silk around a hanging leaf and another dangles from a fern. For older colorists there is a web mandala ringed with spiders, a spider filled with swirling patterns and a page frame of webs around an oval center. The holidays bring a spider on a jack o'lantern, one trick-or-treating in a witch hat, one on the brim of a witch hat, one hanging over a pumpkin patch, one topping the Christmas tree, one hugging a present in a Santa hat, one building a snowman, one carrying an Easter basket and one blowing out birthday candles.

Spiders are not insects

Children are often surprised to learn that spiders are not insects. Insects have six legs and three body parts; spiders have eight legs and two body parts, and belong to a group called arachnids, along with scorpions and ticks. A quick way to check a drawing: count the legs.

A few more spider facts:

• Spider silk is one of the strongest natural materials for its weight.
• Most spiders have eight eyes, and jumping spiders have two especially large ones at the front for judging distance before they leap.
• Some spiders, like wolf spiders, carry their babies on their backs until they are big enough to go alone.
• Spiders help gardens by eating flies, mosquitoes and other pests.

What color is a spider?

Real spiders come in many more colors than black:

• Brown and tan with darker bands on the legs, for a tarantula or a wolf spider.
• Black with white or orange spots for a jumping spider.
• Bright blue, red and orange for the fan of a peacock spider, one of the most colorful animals in the world.
• Yellow and black stripes for a garden spider on its web.

Leave the web lines white on a dark blue or black background for a night web, or color the dewdrops and raindrops in pale blue so they sparkle.

Cute spiders and detailed webs

The simplest pages show one friendly spider, drawn large, with little around it. Quick to color, above the grid, begins with:

• Teacup
• Hat brim
• Autumn stone

The detailed pages are full of silk threads, leaves and patterns. Lots of detail begins with:

• Web frame
• Staircase web
• Bike wheel

For children who are scared of spiders

Coloring a spider can be a gentle way to get used to them. Start with the cute spiders on the mushroom or the daisy, then move on to the real ones while talking about how spiders help the garden. Many children who start out wary end up fascinated by the jumping spider's big eyes.

Printing

Every page is a free A4 PDF drawn at 300 dpi. A4 prints at full size, and on US Letter "fit to page" shrinks the drawing by about six percent so every leg stays on the paper. The printing guide shows the setting. Add to pack prints a whole web of spiders at once. More small creatures are in the bug coloring pages and the ladybug coloring pages, more spooky fun in the Halloween coloring pages, and more wildlife in the animal coloring pages.