Skip to content

Category Archives: Spiders   rss

What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Golden Orbweaver with Egg Sac

6 yr old bug scientist needs your help again
September 21, 2009
Hi,
Earlier this summer, you helped us identify a silver argiope orb weaver that we found outside my son’s school. Since then, he’s found a Golden Orb Weaver in our back yard that we identified by using your sight. Over the weekend, she suddenly disappeared for a couple of days and we wondered what happened to her. Well, this morning, we found out. She was back – and with a very large egg sac.
I’ve attached pictures of her both before and after the egg sac appeared.
My son would like to know if you have any idea how many baby spiders we can expect and how long it will take them to hatch. Also – will the mommy spider survive this process?
Thanks for your help!
P.S. I tried to send this earlier today, but got an error message and couldn’t tell if it went through so if you get it twice, I apologize.
Mom of future “bug guy”
Aliso Viejo, CA

Golden Orbweaver with Egg Sac

Golden Orbweaver with Egg Sac

Dear Mom of future “bug guy”,
Several hundred spiderlings will emerge from this Golden Orbweavers Egg Sac, probably between 200 and 500.  Since you live where there is a mild climate, they mother spider might survive to see her spiderlings emerge, but in harsher climates, the Egg Sac will overwinter and the mother will die.  When the spiderlings emerge, they will balloon away on the wind on silken threads to disperse whichever way the wind blows.  They can travel quite far on the wind.

Posted 22 September 2009 § Eggs § Orb Weavers ‡ Comments (0) °

Marbled Orbweaver

Bulbous, orange with black and white markings. @1/2″ diameter with orange, white and brown striped legs.
September 20, 2009
Hello, I live in Connecticut and found this spider within an outdoor light fixture. Have never seen anything like it. What kind of spider is this and is it poisonous? Is it a helpful or harmful species?
Chris
Connecticut,USA

Marbled Orbweaver

Marbled Orbweaver

Hi Chris,
The Marbled Orbweaver, Araneus marmoreus, is a highly variable spider, but your orange variation is one of the more distinctive of the variations.  This is a harmless species.

Posted 20 September 2009 § Orb Weavers ‡ Comments (0) °

Jumping Spider, but which one???

Red Jumping Spider
September 17, 2009
Middle of September, ’09, Central Oklahoma, USA. Found in grassy back yard near structure while mowing the lawn. It really irritates me that I don’t know this one. When I was in grade school an entomology professor/uncle of mine had me catching these guys for a paper he was writing on them. I think that he was naming the species. Now it’s nearly 50 years later and he’s gone and I don’t remember if he ever told me what he was doing with these red jumping spiders. There seems to be a few closely related species that inhabit the same area and vary only slightly in the markings. I have always thought that this was an exceptionally aesthetic little creature. As memory serves they are very fond of woodpiles. I would love to get a common name for this one but considering the connection a species name would be golden. Thank you.
J.Hopkins
Central Oklahoma, USA

Red Jumping Spider

Red Jumping Spider

Dear J,
We are most touched by your letter.  Though we haven’t the time at the moment to try to research your request, we will post your letter and photo and perhaps one of our readers will be able to supply you with the answer.  We are linking to the BugGuide section on the Jumping Spider family Salticidae as well.  We believe your spider is in the Subfamily Dendryphantinae.

My research is indicating Phidippus apacheanus as the species. I still haven’t a clue as to who named it.
Thanks so much for your atttention.
J. Hopkins

Update from Karl
September 18, 2009
Hi Daniel:
It looks like another jumping spider in the genus Phidippus (Salticidae: Dendryphantinae: Dendryphantini), possibly P. clarus or P. pius, but most likely P. cardinalis (the Cardinal Jumping Spider). Based on the numerous photos on the Bugguide site, this looks like a male. Regards.
Karl

Thanks Karl,
I am familiar with P. cardinalis, we have them here, too.  Generally P. cardinalis is a bit
larger, esp females and has markings on the abdomen that are not present in
P. apacheanus.  P. cardinalis has a light line running around the for part of the abdomen and sometimes tiny light spots about middle dorsal of the abdomen.  I am not familiar with any markings on P. apacheanus, just the red head and abdomen and black legs.
I believe we have Phidippus clarus as well, or I have seen it somewhere, and it has a black cephalothorax as do many Phidippus, as well as bright markings on the abdomen.
Phidippus pius lacks the black legs but accounting for individual variation is a possibility but I think that pius is a larger species.
It is not my intent to be argumentative or mistrusting of the experts.  I’ve never taken a single class in entomology and only worked with a few relatives and friends that were entomologists.  However, to me it still looks like P. apacheanus and I have only a marginal degree of faith in that identification.
There is some speculation that P. apacheanus is a velvet ant mimic which are common here and sport the come color and pattern.  I have my doubts on this as the spiders seem to stay off of the ground where the wingless wasps frequent.  The spiders are about half the size as well.
I’ll attach a few links to Phidippus apacheanus pics:
. . . and thanks so very much.  Alternate opinions from interested and well-trained persons is highly valued.  It could well be that you know something that I don’t.  Thanks again,
J. Hopkins

Another Update from J. Hopkins
September 19, 2009
Sorry,
www.biosurvey.ou.edu/okwild/misc/rbjspi.html
bugguide.net/node/view/232814/bgimage
But I am seeing several examples where it appears that cardinalis and apacheanus have been misidentified one for the other.  I am not sure that some of the web posted identifications can be trusted.
Thanks again,
J. Hopkins

Posted 18 September 2009 § Jumping Spiders ‡ Comments (3) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

South American Micrathena: Arrowshaped Orbweaver

Unknown spiked spider, Black, Yellow and Red, Guyana, South America
September 12, 2009
I found this spider in Guyana, South America. Taken August 21, 2009, during the start of the dry season. It was in Surama Village, located in the North Rupununi Savannah. It’s location is 4 degrees north latitude and 59 degrees west longitude. This village is where the rainforest meets the savannah. The spider was in the rainforest, not savannah. This picture is somewhat overexposed from sunlight, but the spiders back end is bright yellow (looks kind of white in the picture), with a little bit of red and black. The yellow continues to it’s upper body. I estimate that it measures about 1 to 1.5 inches from head to end.
Bryan Chautems
North Rupununi, Guyana, South America

South American Micrathena

South American Micrathena

Hi Brian,
Perhaps one of our readers will be able to supply you with an exact species.  We are relatively certain your spider is an Orbweaver in the genus Micrathena.  There is a North American species, Micrathena sagittata, that looks quite similar and is known as the Arrowshaped Micrathena.  That species is represented on BugGuide.  Your individual may be closely related or even be a subspecies.

Update
South American Micrathena: Arrowshaped Orbweaver – Unknown spiked spider, Black, Yellow and Red, Guyana, South America
September 12, 2009
Hi Daniel:
I think it pretty much has to be Micrathena, as you suggest.  It does look very similar to M. sagittata and that species does occur as for south as Guyana, but I don’t think that’s it.  It looks more like another wide ranging species, M. schreibersi.  As is so often the case, this species is variable and the red highlights are not always present, but most of the other prominent features seem to match as well.  If I may hedge a little, however, this is a very abundant genus with over 100 species, almost all of them neotropical, so there may be other candidates as well. Regards.
Karl

Posted 12 September 2009 § Orb Weavers ‡ Comments (1) °

Golden Silk Spider: Grossly exaggerated

over a foot long with leg lenth, color is mustard and black on legs
September 11, 2009
This spider is huge! Its web is thick as a thin rope. I see them all throughout the woods here in Valdosta Georgia.
from whats that bug
Valdosta, Georgia, United States

Golden Silk Spider: Scale distortion

Golden Silk Spider: Scale distortion

Dear from whats that bug,
We are highly amused by the gross exaggeration in your letter.  This is a Golden Silk Spider, Nephila clavipes, which is sometimes called  a Banana Spider.  They are native to the Southeast U.S. and range into South America.  They are harmless.  They are big spiders, but nowhere near the size you indicate.  Your photo is a wonderful example of how photography can be used to fool the eye by eliminating depth cues and distorting the actual scale relationship between two objects.  The spider is much closer to the camera and its distance relative to the person is greater than what the photo leads one to believe.  This same scale distortion was used several years ago in a widely distributed image on the internet of a Camel Spider in Iraq.  The quality of that image was much better than the low resolution, blurry image you have submitted, so we don’t expect your photo to go viral, creating mass hysteria among arachnophobes.

Posted 12 September 2009 § Orb Weavers ‡ Comments (0) °

Three Spiders catch Prey: Six Spotted Fishing Spider and Jumping Spider are Cannibals!!!

Food chain/spider cannibalism pics–jumping spiders and water spider
September 9, 2009
Hi,
I thought you guys might like these pictures. The first one is a tiny jumping spider (5mm) I found eating a small fly or winged aphid in my backyard (central Oklahoma) this summer.

Jumping Spider eats winged insect (Aphid perhaps)

Jumping Spider eats winged insect (Aphid perhaps)

The second picture is a jumping spider (1cm) I found eating a smaller jumping spider (5mm). This was taken at my aunt’s house (also in central Oklahoma).

Jumping Spider Cannibalism

Jumping Spider Cannibalism

The third picture was taken last summer.  I was walking around my aunt’s pond when I spotted this water spider (2 in.). As I watched him, he ran across the surface of the water and attacked a smaller water spider (1cm), and then started eating him before my eyes. I’m sorry that the third picture isn’t very clear (I had to crop and brighten it so that you could see the little spider, and that greatly reduced the resolution). Thanks for the awesome site, and keep up the good work.
Josh Kouri

Six Spotted Fishing Spider: Cannibalistic Behavior

Six Spotted Fishing Spider: Cannibalistic Behavior

Hi Josh,
We always appreciate your submissions.  We are especially thrilled with your photo of a Six Spotted Fishing Spider, Dolomedes triton, one of the most aquatic of a genus known collectively as Fishing Spiders.  Your Fishing Spider was not as degraded as you indicated, but it would be best to submit camera quality images since we inevitably adjust levels and correct quality before posting anyways.

Posted 12 September 2009 § Jumping Spiders § Nursery Web Spiders ‡ Comments (0) °

Arrowshaped Micrathena

Spider with reddish brown legs and yellow & black pointy back
September 8, 2009
I was sitting on my backyard swing and my 18 mos old brought my attention to this spider, she thought it was a bee. I put it in a bug jar and took a couple pictures of it. It is between 1/4-1/4 inches long. We live in SW Pennsylvania And it’s nearly fall here. I’m just wondering what kind of spider it is, I’ve never seen anything like it around here before ! I am petrified of spiders, so I can’t believe I actually got this in a jar.. haha Any information you have would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
Momma of Three
South Western PA

Arrowshaped Micrathena

Arrowshaped Micrathena

Dear Momma of Three,
Suddenly we have gotten quite behind in our responses.  The new semester with budget cuts has brought added responsibility to our already busy lives.  This is an Arrowshaped Micrathena, Micrathena sagittata, a harmless Orbweaver.  You can read about the species on BugGuide.

Posted 10 September 2009 § Orb Weavers ‡ Comments (0) °

Fishing Spider with Spiderlings

Spider, nursery web, egg sack
September 7, 2009
I photographed this spider near a creek in Maple Grove, MN – at the Maple Grove Arboretum.
Michelle Whitney
Maple Grove MN

Fishing Spider with Egg Sac

Fishing Spider with Egg Sac

Hi Michelle,
Your spider is a Fishing Spider, Dolomedes tenebrosus.  Her eggs have hatched and it appears that some of the spiderlings may have already molted.

Posted 09 September 2009 § Nursery Web Spiders ‡ Comments (0) °

Delta Flower Scarab caught by Golden Orbweaver

orange beetle with triangle on thorax in an argiope’s web
September 3, 2009
Around noon today, I saw this small beetle get caught in the web of the largest Argiope aurantia spider I’ve ever seen. I live in Fort Pierce, Florida. The beetle has an orange abdomen and legs, but a yellow and black thorax and head. There is a yellow triangle pointing towards the abdomen on its thorax. What could this beetle be? I don’t think I’ve seen one before.
I’ve also included a picture of the spider, in case you want to use it on your site.
Thanks!
Gary
Fort Pierce, FL

Delta Flower Scarab in Orbweaver's web

Delta Flower Scarab in Orbweaver's web

Hi Gary,
This lovely beetle is a Delta Flower Scarab, Trigonopeltastes delta.  The beetle gets its common and scientific name from the shape of the marking on the thorax that resembles the Greek letter delta.   According to BugGuide:  “Adults take pollen and/or nectar. (Possibly eat vegetative parts as well?) Food plants include Goldenrod (Solidago), Feverfew (Parthenium), Coneflower (Echinacea), and Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccafolium).“  Golden Orbweavers are also called Writing Spiders because of the pattern of the stabilimentum in the web that is believed to help camouflage the spider.  We are quite happy to add your images and letter to our Food Chain pages.

Golden Orbweaver eats Delta Flower Scarab

Golden Orbweaver eats Delta Flower Scarab

Posted 05 September 2009 § Orb Weavers § Scarab Beetles ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged:

Drowned Wolf Spider is life raft for her Spiderlings

Is this a wolf spider with spiderlings?
August 31, 2009
I was wondering what kind of spider this is. You don’t have very many wolf spiders and I can’t seem to find one that looks like this. We found her in our pool. We see two or three of these spiders a week in our inground pool. She was still alive when I took the picture and the babies were too. I tried to compare the spider with other wolf spiders, but they do not look like this. Is she floating on her back with her babies on the bottom of her abdomen?
Melissa Spencer
Tuscaloosa, AL

Drowned Wolf Spider with Spiderlings

Drowned Wolf Spider with Spiderlings

Hi Melissa,
This is a female Wolf Spider with Spiderlings.  Sadly, she appears to have drowned in the swimming pool, but luckily, her body is providing a raft for her Spiderlings, so she is still caring for them after death.  We actually have numerous images of Wolf Spiders on our site, but they have not been subclassified since our site migration almost a year ago.  Just last weekend we completed the subcategorization of the archived Caterpillar images, and that took hours.  We need to go through all of our Spider archived postings and further subcategorize them into Fishing Spiders, Orbweavers, Jumping Spiders, Wolf Spiders and others.  For now, you can view them using our awesome in site search engine or you may just view the uncategorized Spiders.  We hope our reply reached you in time, or that your rescued the living Spiderlings before getting our response.  Unfortunately, the backyard swimming pool is a death trap for countless insects.  In Southern California, we frequently receive images of drowned male California Trapdoor Spiders that have stumbled into the pool in search of a mate.

Posted 02 September 2009 § Wolf Spiders ‡ Comments (1) °

Green Lynx and Hummingbird

Green Lynx sharing Hummingbird feeder
September 1, 2009
I live in central Gerogia and have Green Lynxs in my garden. Recently I saw this one perched on a bird feeder. Even as the hummingbird feeds, the spider stays true to the hunt. I hope you enjoy!
SJ
Lizella, GA

Green Lynx Spider and Hummingbird at feeder

Green Lynx Spider and Hummingbird at feeder

Hi SJ,
Your letter is the third awesome Green Lynx image we are posting today.  It is our experience that Green Lynx Spiders are attracted to pink and red flowers where they wait to ambush pollinating insects.  We doubt that this Green Lynx could capture the Hummingbird, but we posted several images a few years ago of a Golden Orbweaver that had captured a Hummingbird in its web.  There is also a photo on the internet of a Golden Silk Spider that captured a Mannikin Finch in Australia.

Green Lynx Spider on Hummingbird Feeder

Green Lynx Spider on Hummingbird Feeder

Posted 01 September 2009 § Green Lynx ‡ Comments (0) °

Green Lynx Spider eats Green Bottle Flies

Totally necessary carnage (lynx spider)
September 1, 2009
Hi! I just thought you might like to see this neat lynx spider who was devastating the fly population on my garbage can. Thanks for the site…it comes in useful for me all the time!!
Andrea
San Diego

Green Lynx eats Green Bottle Flies

Green Lynx eats Green Bottle Flies

Hi Andrea,
Your subject line caught our attention and made us cringe.  We are thrilled to see that once we opened your email, you misidentified the term carnage.  Your photo of a Green Lynx Spider feeding on Green Bottle Flies belongs in Food Chain.  Unnecessary Carnage is reserved for human instigated killing of insects and other creatures.  So often, Green Lynx Spiders, our favorite spider species, feed on pollinating insects.  It is a refreshing change to see them feeding on pestiferous species.

Posted 01 September 2009 § Green Lynx § blow flies ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Page 3 of 59«12345»102030...Last »