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Labidognatha
True spiders belong to the suborder labidognatha. There are two other suborders, mesothelae and mygalomorphae. Mesothelae lack the venom glands of other spiders and the order mygalomorphae contains tarantulas. True spiders include widows, orb weavers, ogre-faced spiders, pirate spiders, crab spiders, trapdoor spiders, funnel weaver spiders, wolf spiders and jumping spiders.
Uropygi and Schizomida
Order uropygi has 70 species in the United States but they're most abundant in Central and South America. Uropygis are also called whipscorpions because of their whiplike tails. One group, the vinegaroons, can grow to 3 inches long, have robust claws that pinch and can aim a vinegar-scented mist at an attacker. Other vinegaroons smell of formic acid or chlorine.
Members of the order schizomida (which means "split in the middle") are tiny, less than .2 inches. They lack eyes and have a three-segmented tail. They live in the tropics under stones and leaf litter.
Amblypygi and Solifugae
Order amblypygi are tailless whipscorpions found in the southern United States. They hide under rocks and if the rocks are overturned, they scuttle sideways. Order solifugae are called wind scorpions because they "run like the wind" to avoid predators. They're also called sun scorpions because they live in deserts or dry places. Wind scorpions range in size from .3 inches to 2 inches long and are yellow or brown. They have huge jaws that make them formidable predators; they can kill and eat small lizards. They are known to bite humans but have no venom. Most wind scorpions are nocturnal.
Pseudoscorpiones and Scorpiones
Pseudoscorpions, members of the order pseudoscorpiones, are common but secretive. They don't grow more than .2 inches long and live under leaf litter, manure, moss, loose bark and rocks. They can walk backwards as well as forward. They lack a real scorpion's long tail and stinger but have poison glands in their pincers, which they use to catch small insects. They also have silk glands in their jaws, and they use the silk for shelter or for brooding. Scorpions are much larger (pandinus can grow to 7 inches long) and have a long, curved tail with a stinger at the tip. Most live in warm, dry climates.
Opiliones
Opiliones, or harvestmen, are also called daddy long legs, though many have short legs. The head, thorax and abdomen are fused. Males are smaller than females but have longer legs. Unlike other arachnids they don't court before mating and the female lays eggs in the ground during the fall, using an ovipositor. The larvae hatch the next spring. Most harvestmen are about .1 to .2 inches long, though a species like Leiobunum vittatum can have very long legs.