Very large mommy and babies (?) in Ocala FL area
Mon, Dec 29, 2008 at 5:41 PM
Hello! Love your site!!
Last summer, we where driving across FL and stopped in Ocala at a large truck stop. This mommy and what I believe was a baby or siblings had a HUGE web built behind a BBQ stand. The biggest was about 6″ end to end and the smaller (in the second picture) was about 4″ long. Can you identify them (so we know if we should avoid them in the future) 
Or just take cools pics from afar.
Lauren in NPR FL
Ocala FL
Pair of Golden Silk Spiders
Hi Lauren,
Your assumption that this Golden Silk Spider was tending to her young is understandable, but incorrect. The large female Golden Silk Spider, Nephila clavipes, dwarfs her mate by being as much as 100 times his mass. Golden Silk Spiders are not dangerous, but we imagine that they might bite if threatened, but there would be no lasting effects of the bite beyond local pain and swelling.
Spider almost the size of my hand
Wed, Dec 24, 2008 at 6:26 AM
I found this very large, very fast, and very creepy spider this morning near the back door on the inside of the house here in east central Florida. It has me squirming and freaking out, especially because it ran away and hid and is still somewhere in the house. Please, for my peace of mind, what is that thing?
Kristina
Titusville, FL
Huntsman Spider
Hi Kristina,
This Huntsman Spider, Heteropoda venatoria, is also known as a Banana Spider because it is believed to have been introduced to many worldwide seaport areas with warm climates from Asia with banana shipments. The species is now well documented in Florida and Georgia according to BugGuide. The Huntsman Spider is harmless and is a tolerated species in many parts of the world because it is a nocturnal hunter that feeds on cockroaches.
Fishing Spider
Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 8:56 PM
Hi Guys,
Got this lovely lady in my garden today. She is Dolomedes instabilis, in the Pisauridae family of fishing spiders, although many in the family never go near water but build nests amongst green leaves, as this one is doing on a chili plant. Have a merry Xmas and a Happy New Year all.
aussietrev
Queensland, Australia
Common Water Spider from Australia
Hi Trevor,
This is very exciting. We were not aware that Dolemedes Fishing Spiders were found in Australia. We are linking to the Brisbane Insect Web Site and another page on the same site that calls the species the Common Water Spider.
Lynx Spider? First Encounter
Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 8:26 PM
Hi Guys,
Found this rather lovely lady in my vegetable patch. I guess its a lynx spider but not one I’ve seen before and I can’t find a match for the colour and patterns on any of my regular reference sites. Body size 8-10mm. Hopefully someone will know this one.
aussietrev
Queensland, Australia
Unknown Lynx Spider
Hi Trevor,
You have helped us with so many identifications in the past. We hope one of our readers can identify your beautiful hunting spider.
Looks an awful lot like an ant mimic in the family Corinnidae. For example (see link):A Corinnidae from Brisbane.
http://www.geocities.com/brisbane_spiders/images/wpeB5.jpg
See also the last for spiders at link:
http://www.geocities.com/brisbane_spiders/Corinnidae.htm
mother spider and spiderlings
Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 9:35 AM
Dear bugman,
please help identify this family. Actual length of the body was approximately 2cm. She was very cooperative when I took her home to take a proper photograph and generally stood still. Of course I put them back when I was done. The original high-resolution picture with geographic coordinates and link to another version taken from a different angle was contributed to Wikimedia Commons ( http://commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Image:Mother-spider-and- spiderlings-0a.jpg )
Thank you in advance for your time and effort!
Best regards, Adamantios
Thrace, Greece
Wolf Spider with Spiderlings
Hi Adamantios,
Though we cannot provide an exact species, this is most definitely a Wolf Spider in the family Lycosidae. The female Wolf Spider will drag her egg sac around until the spiderlings hatch. She then carries the spiderlings on her back for several days until they disperse.
Identifying Spider Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 12:31 PM
I found this spider when I reached for my soap dispenser in my bathroom! It was in June. The spider was approximately 2″ by 2″. My husband captured the spider on the side of a kleenex box and he “thinks” it made it safely outside. I have not seen it since. By the way, we live in the town where the movie “Arachnophobia” was filmed. Thanks for you help!
Judy
Central Coast of California
Giant Crab Spider
Hi Judy,
We thought your spider looked like one of the Giant Crab Spiders, but we didn’t recognize it, so we wrote to Eric Eaton. Here is his response: “Daniel: The spider is a male in the family Tengellidae, related to giant crab spiders. I believe it is an introduced species, native to somewhere overseas, but not recognized as dangerously venomous. Might be in the genus Titiotus, but not sure. There should be some online fact sheets about it since it is such a large spider and easiy commands attention. Eric” Eric’s response made us ponder the possibility that perhaps several of Aracnophobia’s extras escaped and found your town to their liking. It would be an example of life imitating art. We were also quite impressed with your bathroom. Since our recent remodel, we have white bathroom tile with white grout, but it seems our grout always looks dingy. We would love to hear your cleaning secret.
¶ Posted 30 November 2008 § ‡ ° Possible trapdoor spider?
Thu, Nov 27, 2008 at 3:06 PM
Hi there,
I found this specimen on my porch in the last stages of life. It is black and appears to have a light brown bulbous sac at one end. Also, it looks like it has ten legs. Is it a trapdoor spider perhaps?
Many thanks,
Patrick Cates
Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA 90026
California Trapdoor Spider
Hi Patrick,
Greetings from Mount Washington, across the Los Angeles River. This is a male California Trapdoor Spider, Bothriocyrtum californicum. Thanks to human expansion into their habitat, they are becoming increasingly rarer in the Los Angeles area. During the rainy season, we would encounter male California Trapdoor Spiders searching for the burrows of prospective mates in the hills of Glassell Park when we lived there, and in our current location in Mount Washington. Your proximity to Elyssian Park is probably a contributing factor to this encounter. Charles Hogue, in his book Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, wrote: “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 … .” Just today, we pitched an article idea for our local newsletter entitled “Look What Crawled Out in the Rain” with the intention of writing about both the California Trapdoor Spider and the Potato Bug.
¶ Posted 28 November 2008 § ‡ ° Specific recluse
Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 10:56 PM
Hi, I found this presumed reclusa spider in my house in Tucson, AZ. I know browns aren’t thought to be native here, but this is the fourth one I’ve found. This is the second one inside the house, and the other two were in the garage and back porch. Would this be a desert recluse, an arizona recluse, a brown recluse, or another species??
Thanks,
Clay
Tucson, Arizona
Recluse Spider
Hi Clay,
We too are unsure exactly which species of Recluse Spider in the genus Loxosceles you have photographed. Exact identification may take a spider expert and may require actual examination of the specimen. BugGuide posts a map with species distribution, and it seems Loxosceles apachea, Loxosceles arizonica, Loxosceles deserta, Loxosceles kaiba and Loxosceles sabina can all be found in Arizona, but there are no photographs identifying the differences between the species. Both Loxosceles apachea and Loxosceles arizonica have ranges near the Tucson area. BugGuide also indicates of the Loxosceles: “Brown spiders will not bite unless provoked. Little is known about the venom and bite of the lesser-known species of brown spiders. ‘Although there are suspected variations in virulence among the species, all Loxosceles spiders should be considered potentially capable of producing dermonecrosis to some extent.’ (Arachnids Submitted as Suspected Brown Recluse Spiders (Araneae: Sicariidae): Loxosceles Spiders Are Virtually Restricted to Their Known Distributions but Are Perceived to Exist Throughout the United States by Rick Vetter). Loxosceles venom is cytotoxic to humans. “
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