Monstrous brown spotted spider
June 13, 2009
We were shocked to discover this spider in a forest preserve outside Chicago. The picture actually underestimates its size because the hand shown is in front of the spider. Spider leg span was 3-3.5 inches, total body size was about two inches. Spider had some fur but wasn’t as hairy as say a tarantula. Hand is small-average male hand.
Lou and Bethany
Just outside of Chicago
Fishing Spider
Dear Lou and Bethany,
What a wonderful image of a Fishing Spider, probably Dolomedes tenebrosus. Fishing Spiders generally live near water and they have been known to dive beneath the surface and remain there to escape enemies and to fish for prey. They can actually catch fish underwater.
Spider Identification request.
July 12, 2009
I came across this spider, it probably is a common spider in England however I’ve never come across this kind before. The legs and main body part were transparent while the sack was white with the bright red.
it’s size was the same of that of a finger nail.
Season : Summer
Possibly nothing special but would be nice to know. pictures aren’t great so apologies there.
M.D
England
Candystripe Spider
Dear M.D.,
Just yesterday we posted a photo from Ireland of a Candystripe Spider, Enoplognatha ovata. It is also represented on BugGuide, and we are uncertain if it has a global distribution naturally, or if it has been introduced accidentally.
¶ Posted 14 July 2009 § ‡ ° Spiny Spider
July 13, 2009
Found this guy in my hair yesterday (July 12) during a hike. I’ve never seen a spider like this. My husband didn’t believe it was a spider until it spun its silk to drop off a branch. Still not sure what type of spider it is. Sorry for the quality. We didn’t have our good camera on the hike. 
Resa
Atlanta, GA
Spined Micrathena
Hi Resa,
This is a Spined Micrathena, Micrathena gracilis, one of the orb weaving spiders. It ranges over much of eastern North America. We are amused with your comment about the picture quality, and we can only imagine the resolution of your good camera seeing as so much that we receive are either low resolution images taken with cell phones, or blurry large files taken by people who have no idea how to properly focus their cameras.
Enoplognatha ovata?Not a lot of brightly coloured spiders in Ireland so… July 12, 2009
Love love love love the site. I live in a rural area of Ireland and have not come across too many pretty, brightly coloured spiders here so it was a nice surprise to see this girl moving into our bathroom a few days ago. She was making it very difficult for us to get a pic of her so that we could get a closer look and search for an ID. But the other day as I got out of the shower she was out and about without a care in the world. So in a bath towel and up a ladder I took as many pics as I could and only one seemed fit to show to anyone – I stopped after snapping over 20 as it was all becoming a bit ‘Carry on…’ plus I didn’t want to slip and be found and have to explain what I was doing!
After trawling the internet and books I think she is Enoplognatha ovata but not 100% and I have definitley never seen anything like her before.
She seems to be taking up residence along with several other house spiders who share our bathroom and she just stands out so well against the white tiles we can’t help but check to see if she is still there everytime someone goes in.
Keep up the great work – I teach animal care/science students animal behaviour and we spend lots of time discussing evolution and biodiversity so I like to hammer home the importance of ‘creepy crawlies’ so your site is one of the top links I recommend they visit to develop an appreciation for such essential organisms. Cheers!
Anne Rogers, Meath, Ireland
Ballivor, County Meath, Ireland, Europe
Candystripe Spider
Hi Anne,
Thanks for your complimentary letter. We believe you have properly identified Enoplognatha ovata, and our research turned up the colorful common name Candystripe Spider on the Eurospiders Website. It is a Cobweb Spider in the family Theridiidae.
Green spider captured
Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 2:16 PM
I captured this spider at my wife’s request, it was sitting inside the carport.
Haven’t seen a green one before but have seen brown ones.
Steve
Kearns, utah
probably Running Crab Spider
Hi Steve,
We believe this is a Nursery Web Spider in the family Pisauridae, which includes the Fishing Spiders. These are large spiders and your photo does not indicate scale, nor does your letter provide any indication of the size. We are uncertain of the exact identification, but we do believe the family is correct. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide more specific information.
Update from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
Hard to tell, especially without a size being given, but I would suspect this is actually a running crab spider in the genus Tibellus, family Philodromidae. A close-up of the eye arrangement would also be telling…..
Eric
Great Site for Science Students
Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 4:43 PM
Hi Bugman,
I’m a sixth grade science teacher and I wanted to say how helpful your site is when teaching my students about helpful and harmful insects, arachnids, and other creatures. Students love the pictures and they often have good discussions about the bugs I show them. Your site is useful in helping students to identify before they kill bugs. Thanks for providing a great site. It’s great to show my students great pictures. You are appreciated!
C.G
Science Teacher
Florida
P.S.
I have enclosed a photo of a brown widow that I necessarily had to carnage on my front porch. It had nested under a chair on my front porch.
Brown Widow
Dear C.G,
Thank you so much for your kind letter. It is with trepidation that we are NOT tagging your letter as Unnecessary Carnage, and we feel many of our readership will disagree. Your justifiably dispatched photo of a Brown Widow doused with insecticide nicely shows the typical orange coloration of the hourglass and the striped legs. According to BugGuide the Brown Widow has a distribution: “World wide in the tropical zone. It was introduced in Florida and has since been observed moving north through Georgia, and into South Carolina; it has also been officially recorded in California, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. Habitat Found around buildings in tropical climates. (1)However, it is an introduced species and is the most human-adapted of the species occurring in the South Eastern US. Its webs may occur anywhere there is sufficient space to make one. It may be extremely abundant on houses and other man-made structures (e.g., barns, fences, guard rails, bridges). It reproduces frequently and disperses rapidly, making it nearly impossible to control.” Since it is an introduced species, we will be tagging it as an Invasive Exotic.
Huge female spider with egg sac
Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 6:40 PM
Hello – We were pulling up rocks from around my garden pond to replace the liner and came across this big spider, with a baby sac. Do you know what kind it is? If you like the picture, feel free to post it. Just let me know if you do. I named her Mary Beth, the Jurassic Pregnant Pond Spider. We relocated here to a different part of the yard.
Cathy
Miamisburg, Ohio
Female Fishing Spider with Egg Sac
Hi Cathy,
This is a female Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes, probably the Northern Dolomedes, Dolomedes tenebrosus. They are generally associated with bodies of water, which makes her habitat around your pond significant.
Large spider in Roatan, Honduras
Sun, Jun 28, 2009 at 10:18 AM
We came across this spider crossing the road at night in Roatan Honduras. We were going to put something next to it to measure it, but right after I snapped the picture, a local ran up and stomped on it.
From leg-tip to leg-tip was about 5-6 inches.
-cd
Roatan Honduras
Giant Crab Spider
Dear cd,
Those locals have no respect for wildlife. We believe this is a Giant Crab Spider in the family Sparassidae, possibly the Banana Spider or Huntsman Spider, Heteropoda venatoria. That species is native to Asia, but has spread around the world in warmer countries with the popularity of bananas and the resulting agriculture and trade. It is a hunting species that is nocturnal. We would gladly defer to an expert who can provide more conclusive information.
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