Fat Spider
Location: Patriots Point, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
April 7, 2011 8:11 pm
Hi Bugman,
While removing a mailbox post we unearthed this chunky spider. It scared Robby, who had the hammer. I managed to grab my camera and snap a few pics before relocating it to a dense shrubby forest.
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Signature: Simply Bananas
Regal Jumper
Dear Simply Bananas,
This is a Jumping Spider in the family Salticidae, and it appears to be a Regal Jumper, Phidippus regius. The Regal Jumper has several common and some uncommon variations, and your specimen is a very close match to this image posted to BugGuide from Florida. Jumping Spiders are considered harmless to humans. They have excellent eyesight and they stalk their prey as opposed to snaring prey with a web.
Regal Jumper
Spider found in a pool in Atlanta
Location: Atlanta, GA
April 10, 2011 12:04 pm
Hi Bug Man,
Via facebook, my friend, Marla found this big ”boy.” What kid of spider is it? Seems big and scary. Is it?
Signature: Robin Payne, Snellville, GA
Trapdoor Spider
Hi Robin,
This appears to be a male Trapdoor Spider. Trapdoor Spiders live in burrows with camouflaged, hinged doors. They ambush unwary prey that happens to walk by. Trapdoor Spiders are closely related to Tarantulas, though they are much smaller. Trapdoor Spiders might bite if provoked, but the bite is relatively harmless. Female Trapdoor Spiders rarely leave their burrows, but male Trapdoor Spiders will wander in search of a mate. The California Trapdoor Spider frequently falls into swimming pools and the same may be true for other members of the group. We believe this may be a spider in the genus Myrmekiaphila based on photos posted to BugGuide. This posting on BugGuide indicates that the species may have a relationship to bodies of water.
Thanks so much. I sent your note to my friend and we are both glad to know what that big guy is.
Spiders Galore at Delray Oaks Natural Area
Location: Delray Beach, Florida
April 7, 2011 12:21 pm
Hello What’s That Bug! I love your site. I am the volunteer coordinator for the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management – so I am outside a lot working with dedicated volunteers who want to protect the county’s natural resources. Obviously, we come into contact with lots of bugs. I always head to your website when I have a critter I can’t identify. I know this spider – golden-silk spider. I thought you might like this picture since you can clearly see the spider is spinning silk to fix her web. I watched her remove a twig that had fallen into her web – she cut it out and then proceeded to repair the area where the stick was. So cool! I also came across lots of crab-like spiny orb weaver spiders and orchard spiders – those guys were way too small to get a good photo. Keep up the great work!
Signature: Ann Mathews – Senior Environmental Analyst
Golden Silk Spider
Dear Ann,
Thank you so much for your kind letter. We really love your photo of a female Golden Silk Spider, Nephila clavipes.
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Orange beetle eating/killing a spider?
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
April 6, 2011 5:28 am
Hi Bugman,
My sister took this photo in her backyard in Melbourne, Australia,
She said that it appeared that the beetle/bug was dragging the spider along and thought that the spider was the prey. Eventually the bug dropped the spider and she didn’t see what happened to either of them. You can probably tell from the photo that both spider and bug were pretty massive.
I thought the bug might be some sort of assassin bug but it doesn’t really look too much like any of the photos of them I’ve been able to find on the net.
Any ideas?
Signature: Madeleine
Spider Wasp with Huntsman Spider
Hi Madeleine,
This magnificent predator is a Spider Wasp in the family Pompilidae and we believe it is Cryptocheilus bicolor which is pictured on the Brisbane Insect website. The drama would seem to imply that the Spider Wasp is going to enjoy a large meal, but in fact, Spider Wasps feed on nectar. Female Spider Wasps provision a nest with Spiders that are paralyzed, but not killed, by a sting. The Spider Wasp lays a single egg on the paralyzed Spider which then provides a fresh meal for the larval wasp. If the Spider was killed first, it would dry up and the wasp larva would starve. Keeping the Spider paralyzed ensures a fresh meal for the larva. Many Spider Wasps are selective about the types of Spiders they hunt, and Cryptocheilus bicolor is generally associated with Huntsman Spiders. The nest is of this species is an underground burrow, and once the prey has been paralyzed, the Spider Wasp must transport the heavy load to the nest. We believe the Spider Wasp climbs to a high point and glides with the prey since taking off in flight with so much weight would not be possible. The bricks in this photo provide a nice sense of scale.
Spider Wasp with Huntsman Spider
Hi Daniel,
Thank you so much for your quick and very informative response!
This is definitely the insect that is pictured – the photo and behavioural traits match exactly… What an interesting life cycle!
I will pass this information on to my sister who will be very pleased to see the “mystery” solved. She will perhaps also be happy to know she has a native creepy crawly that is keeping the huntsman numbers down a little!
Thanks again for getting back to me.
Kind regards
Madeleine
Bright Green Spider
Location: Orlando, FL
March 24, 2011 8:16 pm
I’m not sure if I identified this spider correctly, but is it a Magnolia Green Jumper. I am an arachnaphobe normally, but this one intrigued me so I was able to take a couple of photos with my phone. I could swear it stopped to stare at me.
Signature: Desiree
Magnolia Green Jumper
Hi Desiree,
Your photo is quite blurry, but this may be a Magnolia Green Jumper, Lyssomanes viridis, which is pictured on BugGuide.
What kind am I
Location: Middle Eastern Missouri (USA)
March 23, 2011 10:22 pm
I found two of these near the same spot behind my living room couch. At first glance i thought they may be Brown Recluse but a closer look and I 99.9% sure they are not but what are they?
Season: Start of spring
Signature: Tim Cochran
Running Crab Spider
Hi Tim,
Our first inclination is that this looks like a Giant Crab Spider in the genus Heteropoda, though Missouri is a bit north for us to feel comfortable with that, not to mention that your specimen appears smaller. The large pedipalps indicates this is a male spider. We are going to enlist assistance from our readership with this identification.
Running Crab Spider
We also wish the resolution of your image was better because moving in close does not really reveal the eye pattern very clearly.
Running Crab Spider
Eric Eaton provides an identification
Nope, it is a “running crab spider,” family Philodromidae.
Sorry, gotta run.
Eric
According to BugGuide, Running Crab Spiders or: “Philodromids tend to have the second pair of legs significantly longer than the first pair, which distinguishes them from the similar Thomisid crab spiders. In addition, thomisids have third and fourth legs that are shorter and more slender than the first two pairs of legs, while philodromid legs are subequal in length.”
What’s this bug?
Location: El Cajon, Ca 92021
March 18, 2011 6:13 pm
Weirdest bug we’ve seen in our backyard.
Do you know what it is?
Blue eyed spider? (I totally made that up)
Your lucky reader.
Signature: Dana Law
Jumping Spider
Hi Dana,
This is a Jumping Spider in the family Salticidae. What you have mistaken for blue eyes are actually the chelicerae or mouth parts.
spider from the Dominican Republic
Location: Dominican Republic
March 18, 2011 1:25 pm
this was taken by a friend on March 15 2011 who is living in the Dominican Republic. It seems like a spider because of the web (though the web itself is quite dilapidated) but such small legs…maybe they’re folded in?
Signature: M. Arzt
Crablike Spiny Orbweaver
Dear M. Arzt,
Your spider is Gasteracantha cancriformis, commonly called the Spinybacked Orbweaver or Crablike Spiny Orbweaver, though BugGuide also includes this list of common names: “Crab Spider, Spiny Orbweaver Spider, Crab-like Orbweaver Spider, Crab-like Spiny Orbweaver Spider, Jewel Spider, Spiny-bellied Orbweaver, Jewel Box Spider, and Smiley Face Spider.“ The most common color variation for this species is white with black legs and markings and red spines.
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