eli5: How can houseflies survive being whacked 5 times with a book but tarantulas just die from a half foot fall

Question

eli5: How can houseflies survive being whacked 5 times with a book but tarantulas just die from a half foot fall

In: Biology

Answer 1

I never killed a tarantula, but flies are easily killed with a flick of a paper napkin. A book would be overkill and messy. Sometimes I can knock a fly out of the air and they become discombobulated enough for an easy kill. PS>I’ve seen kids walking to school playing with tarantulas in the streets of Oklahoma.

Answer 2

How can fish live happily completely submerged in water, but when I tried it with my kid it only lasted 5 minutes?!

Or, unrelated creatures have completely different tolerances to external influences.