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New friend in Iowa
November 7, 2009
This little guy has taken up residence on our porch, is he doomed with the onset of winter just around the corner?
Worried
Granger Iowa
Marbled Orbweaver
Dear Worried,
We love your photo of a harmless Marbled Orbweaver, Araneus marmoreus. It is a highly variable species, and BugGuide illustrates the variety quite nicely.
What arachnid is yellow & black in CALIF but not a garden spider?
November 4, 2009
What arachnid is yellow & black in CALIF but not a garden spider?
Your letter to the bugman I found this arachnid on the head of an acquaintance last week so I flicked it out of his hair with my finger. I looked all over to see where it landed but couldn’t find it. This morning I went out to my truck and it was on my front seat! I’m in Santa Cruz, California.
Please help me identify it.
Thank you, James
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
White Banded Crab Spider
Hi James,
Your spider is a highly variable White Banded Crab Spider, Misumenoides formosipes, and it is harmless. There are several matching images on BugGuide.
Jumping spider mating display
October 31, 2009
Hi,
I was working in my backyard today when I noticed these two beautiful little jumping spiders. The male was trying to convince the female that he would make a good mate. He would approach the female with his arms raised and vibrate his pedipalps. When he would get close, the female would chase after him like she was going to eat him. Eventually the male decided that it wasn’t worth the risk and ran away. The male was about 1/4 of an inch long, and the female was about 1/2 an inch long. They had gray bodies and brilliant gold hairs covering their legs. Any help you can provide in identifying these little beauties will be very appreciated. Keep up the great work.
Josh Kouri
Jumping Spiders: Mating of Vying for Dominance???
Hi Josh,
We believe your spiders are Phidippus mystaceus based on images posted to BugGuide, but we also suspect this might be two male spiders vying for dominance. The male spider is a perfect match to an image on BugGuide. The coloration and pattern of the females posted to BugGuide are significantly different than in your photos. The images are quite amazing.
Jumping Spider: Male or Female???
Hi,
After I saw that you identified my spiders I decided to look for more pictures of Phidippus mystaceus/. /I found several sites that showed females with gold on their legs. These all lacked the red markings on top of their heads that the males have. The larger of the spiders I found also lacked these red markings, but the smaller one had them. Could there be another variation or subspecies of P. mystaceus/ /where the females have gold legs too? Thanks for the help with the I.D.
Josh Kouri
Hi,
Here are the links. http://bugguide.net/node/view/231102/bgimage
http://www.canadianarachnology.org/data/spiders/35475
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phidippus_mystaceus
Hope they help.
Josh Kouri
What Spider is this
October 27, 2009
This spider eated his mate.
mr
Costa Mesa, CA
Orbweavers Mating
Dear mr,
We are uncertain what species of Orbweaver you have sent our way. We couldn’t even say for sure if this is an Araneus. Perhaps one of our readers can tell. Your photos are amazing. It isn’t unusual for female spiders to eat their mates.
Orbweaver eats her Mate
Web spinning huntsman
October 26, 2009
Web spinning huntsman
We get these around outside and inside our house (Queensland, Australia.) They look like male huntsman spiders, and are more active at night, but they also weave massive webs from time to time (between trees) with a very thick fiber. This one came out of my downpipe this morning and bit my arm, self defence I expect, the bite is not serious, just two red dots. Card is in the photo for scale, its the size of a regular credit card.
Dylan
Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Gray Huntsman Spider
Hi Dylan,
We are nearly certain this is a Giant Gray Huntsman Spider, Holconia immanis, which we initially identified on the Geocities Brisbane Insect Website. We continued to search for information once we had the scientific name. A website called the Australian Natural History Website that appears to be run by individuals as opposed to being associated with a scientific organization indicates “The Grey Huntsman does not build a web and is found along the east coast of Australia. They are most active in the summer months and are often encountered in houses, gardens and forested areas. This spider does not bite readily and if it does the pain is mild and local to the bite area.“ A scientific paper written by Klaus Henle from the 1993 Journal of Arachnology that is posted online indicates: “Both species are typical sit-and-wait foragers.Adult H. immanis seem to have 1-2 preferredambush sites where most individuals were ob-served on many consecutive nights up to a period of 6 months.“ Another Australian Insect website that cites Henle’s observations indicates: “Habitat Huntsman spiders are found throughout the east coast of Australia. They do not build webs, and are usually found under bark or ivy or other such sheltered plants. They can also seek shelter inside houses. Diet Typically Huntsman spiders are described to be sit-and-wait foragers where they ambush their prey, often choosing favourite ambush sites (Henle, 1993).” The Insects of Townsville, Australia website built by Graeme Cocks has wonderful photographs. Since all the information we have been able to locate indicates that this species does not build webs, your observations are most interesting. All spiders can spin silk, but Hunting Spiders generally do not build webs as snares. If you are able to photograph this species with its web, please send us documentation in a followup email. It is possible that the Grey Huntsman Spider uses a silken line to move from tree to tree, but that it does not build an actual web.
Gray Huntsman Spider
Thanks Daniel.
I will keep an eye out for any webs. It happens rarely enough that I think it may be a mating or nesting thing. I’ve seen one wrap a palm frond in silk to make a kind of hide, then tie off the frond to our garage gutter. If I ever see it again, I will take some photos.
Cheers,
Dylan Tusler.
*Must see* – Garden spider laying eggs
October 16, 2009
North CarolinaThis garden spider is the only form of pest control we use in our veggie garden – we find a pest, and into the web it goes. My 5 year old loves to help too, he named her “yellow butt”. She was well fed enough this season to produce two egg sacs, the second of which I was able to get these great photos of. I checked in on her every 5 mins for an hour and watched her progress. These photos are of her attaching the eggs to the base, but before she has encased them all in silk.
Josh
North Carolina
Golden Orbweaver laying eggs
Hi Josh,
This spectacular species, Argiope aurantia, has numerous common names, and we prefer Golden Orbweaver. Your egg laying documentation is a wonderful addition to our website. Thanks for the contribution.
Golden Orbweaver laying eggs
Big spider on my door
October 15, 2009
We came home and we went “Eaahh!” There was a huge (2″?) spider on our front door. After some fiddling with our camera we managed to get a couple of half-decent photos of it. We thought it might be the California Trapdoor Spider that some others have met recently, but it’s body isn’t shiny and black and doesn’t quite look the same.
The Gandolfo Family
Hills outside Santa Rosa, Northern California
Crevice Weaver Spider
Dear Gandolfo Family
As much as we would have loved this to be a female California Trapdoor Spider, we believe it is a female Crevice Weaver Spider in the genus Kukulcania. We found some closely matching images on BugGuide. One of the postings on BugGuide indicates that individuals in this genus may live for 10 years. Males are sometimes mistaken for Brown Recluse Spiders. BugGuide has additional information. We also are providing a link to images of the female California Trapdoor Spider, though they rarely leave their burrows.
Crevice Weaver Spider
Trapdoor Spider
October 17, 2009
My wife found this spider in our kitchen sink. She was too scared to pick it out even though it was dead. After picking it out I was fascinated by its size. My question is if this spider is dangerous/venomous? Thank You.
Erik T.
Mount Washington, Los Angeles
California Trapdoor Spider
Hi Erik,
Thanks for informing us about another Mount Washington sighting of a Male California Trapdoor Spider. All spiders have venom, but only a few are harmful to humans. Either the venom is too mild or is not of sufficient quantity, or the fangs of the spider cannot penetrate human skin. We know of no reports of anyone being bitten by a California Trapdoor Spider, but that does not mean it cannot happen. The California Trapdoor Spider is not a species that is considered harmful to humans. We are happy to hear that there must still be a healthy population of this magnificent spider in the Mount Washington area where continued development is reducing the amount of open space.
Hey Daniel;
Came by with a specimen that came waltzing into my studio. It graciously allowed me to catch it, although I don’t know how much air it will need…it’s in a Tupperware container on your porch…
WHAT’S THAT SPIDER?!?!?
California Trapdoor Spider
Last night, we arrived home from work to find a food container on the front porch with this gorgeous male California Trapdoor Spider, Bothriocyrtum californicum, inside. Seems our Mount Washington neighbor had him wander into her backyard studio which we learned upon checking our email. The unseasonal October rains have triggered the mating instinct of the male California Trapdoor Spiders and is causing them to wander about in search of mates. After posing for this photo this morning, we are releasing this randy guy in a vacant lot around the corner.
2 inch black spider with brown abdomen
October 15, 2009
This spider crawled over my wife’s foot. It’s about 2 inches long, shiny black with a brown slightly furry abdomen. It’s mid October here in LA and we just had a rather large rainstorm, the first of the season, possibly it tried to escape into the house? We let him go right after we took the picture.
Syd
Los Angeles California
Male California Trapdoor Spider
Hi Syd,
This is a male California Trapdoor Spider, Bothriocyrtum californicum. Each year, the first rains of the season trigger the mating instinct of the male California Trapdoor Spider who leaves his burrow and wanders in search of a mate. This species is sexually dimorphic. Sadly, the male spiders often wander into backyard swimming pools and drown. Interestingly, our Mount Washington Los Angeles neighbor Jeanie left a tupperware on our porch last night. There is a male California Trapdoor Spider in that tupperware. We were waiting for morning light to take our own photo to create a posting. According to Charles Hogue, in his awesome Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, “Trapdoor spiders are novelties in the Los Angeles Basin today, although they were commonplace a few years ago. They were even collected and sold as curios in the Los Angeles area at the beginning of the twentieth century. Their rarity now is another example of human expansion destroying the habitat of a local animal. The spider prefers to build its nest on sunny south-facing dry hillsides, which in the spring bear a thick covering of short grasses and low herbs. Such areas are becoming increasingly rare in the basin (they are also the habitat of our local tarantulas, and both types of spiders can be found living on the same hillsides).”
Male California Trapdoor Spider
Is it a Spider or a Beetle?
October 13, 2009
About 2cm long, less than 1cm at the widest part
KC
Salem Ohio
Arrowshaped Micrathena
Hi KC,
This is a spider known as the Arrowshaped Micrathena, Micrathena sagittata.
Orange and Green Spider
October 11, 2009
I found this spider ON MY 8 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER! I have seen similar spiders outside our home at night but without the green diamond on the body. I live in Miami, Florida, USA. Please identify this spider so I can either find an exterminator or leave my worries behind!
Cristi Cuadrado
Miami, Florida, USA
Orbweaver: Araneus detrimentosus
Hi Cristi,
We quickly identified your spider as Araneus detrimentosus, a harmless Orbweaver, on BugGuide. While we would hesitate to claim that this spider will never bite, we have not gotten any reports of anyone being bitten by a member of the genus Araneus. If the spider was on your daughter, it was undoubtedly a chance encounter. We would not trouble with an exterminator in this instance, and we truly believe that exposure to pesticides at a tender age would be far more detrimental to your daughter than facing the extremely unlikely odds that this spider, which is not very well represented in images and is probably not terribly common, will bite your daughter or a member of the family.
