Currently viewing the tag: "10 Most Beautiful Spiders"
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Six Spotted Fishing Spider

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Subject: Six Spotted Fishing Spider
Location: Mims, FL
March 1, 2013 5:51 pm
After a night of hunting alligators in Florida my husband found this spider while cleaning out the boat. He was so enamoured of it’s beauty he took this picture, he said it looked like velvet. We don’t have spiders like this (that I know of) in Montana. :) We were watching a show on Africa last night and they showed a Fishing Spider – I immediately recognized it.
Signature: Kirsten Brown

Six Spotted Fishing Spider

Six Spotted Fishing Spider

Dear Kirsten,
This is truly a gorgeous Six Spotted Fishing Spider.  We might even include it in a “10 Most Beautiful Spiders Photos” Tag on our site.  This is truly a gorgeous photo of this species, but we have another image of this species, Dolomedes triton, where it is walking on the water and making dimples.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Orbweaver from Ecuador: Encyosaccus sexmaculatus

On · Category: Orb Weavers Tagged With: · 3 Comments

Unusual Orb Weaver from Ecuador
Location:  Ecuador
January 24, 2013
Hi Daniel. I haven’t posted anything in a while so I thought it might be time. When it comes to ‘bugs’ you may have gathered that I have a particular fondness for the unique and unusual. So I am sending photos of my two favorite finds from a recent trip to the Ecuadorian Amazon (the second to follow shortly). This one is a tiny, rare and undeniably cute Orb Weaver spider called Encyosaccus sexmaculatus (Araneidae: Araneidaeincertae). The genus has only one described species and is native to the upper Amazon basin in Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. The bright colors suggest a warning (aposematic coloration). I haven’t found anything to suggest that they are particularly poisonous, so perhaps they are toxic or distasteful, or they may be mimicking something else that is. Regards. Karl

Orbweaver: Encyosaccus sexmaculatus

Hi Karl,
Thanks for sending us this positively gorgeous Orbweaver for our archives.  We found a few photos online, including this image from Arachnoboards.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Huntsman Spider from Aegean Islands

On · Category: Huntsman Spiders and Giant Crab Spiders Tagged With: · 4 Comments

Subject: Commonly found spider
Location: Eastern Mediterranea,Agean Sea,Islands
October 9, 2012 3:43 pm
What kind of spider is this one? I encounter them everywhere, even in my house.They usually make a small web on the corners of walls and hide in there.
Signature: bs122

Huntsman Spider

Dear bs122,
You neglected to tell us the size of this beautiful creature, and we are guessing it is at least 4-5 centimeters across.  It is some species of Huntsman Spider or Giant Crab Spider, and we will try to do additional research.  We are also guessing you are on a Greek island.

Update:  October 14, 2012
We believe we have correctly identified this Huntsman spider as Eusparassus walckenaeri based on this photo posted to the Crab Spiders website and this photo from the Forum Natura Mediterraneo site.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Golden Orbweaver

On · Category: Orb Weavers Tagged With: · 2 Comments

Subject: large orb weaver?
Location: grand rapids, michigan
August 14, 2012 2:12 pm
hey daniel,
see attached images. very large spider with bright coloration on abdomen…
construction site in West Michigan.
august.2012
Signature: thomas

Golden Orbweaver

Hi Thomas,
The most definite way to properly identify this Orbweaver is by its scientific binomial, Argiope aurantia, however that name is too ponderous for many, so common names are often utilized for convenience.  The problem is that there are a variety of common names and some of those names also refer to other species.  Common names for Argiope aurantia include Golden Orbweaver, Yellow Garden Spider, Yellow Garden Orbweaver, Writing Spider, Black & Yellow Argiope, Black & Yellow Orbweaver, and perhaps a host of other names that are highly localized.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

White Banded Fishing Spider

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Subject: Is this a fishing spider?
Location: Plains GA, Southwest GA
July 28, 2012 1:01 pm
I was cleaning out a tool shed and this little spider came running out from under some car ramps I picked up. Gave me quit the startle as s/he is very fast. It can also jump somewhere between 1 to 2 feet from what I witnessed. It was about 3 inches long and 2 inches wide. Could you confirm this is fishing spider? If so, what do they eat and such?
Signature: Thanks, Anthony

White Banded Fishing Spider

Hi Anthony,
While we find all Fishing Spiders beautiful, the White Banded Fishing Spider, Dolomedes albineus, like the individual in your photograph, is the one we personally find the most beautiful.  Fishing Spiders will eat insects, other spiders and small vertebrates if they can catch them.  Those species that are found close to water are capable of catching small fish, tadpoles and other aquatic creatures.  The White Banded Fishing Spider is not one of the species that is typically found close to water.  BugGuide provides very little specific information on the White Banded Fishing Spider.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Ladybird Spider from Greece

On · Category: Ladybird Spiders Tagged With: · 2 Comments

Subject: Odd colorful spider
Location: Achaia, Greece
June 13, 2012 9:14 am
Greetings,
during a recent day trip to the wilderness I came across this odd colorful spider. What triggered my curiosity is that this awesome insect does not share the colors of the native Greek spiders (who commonly have earthly colors like brown and dark green), but looks like an exotic poisonous spider. Can you please identify it for me? Is it really poisonous or just flamboyant?
Thank you in advance!
Signature: Dimitris

Ladybird Spider

Dear Dimitris,
This beautiful spider is a harmless male Ladybird Spider in the genus Eresus, a group of relatively rare spiders.  We have a lengthy post on our site of a female Ladybird Spider from Slovenia.  Ladybird Spiders are sexually dimorphic and the males and females appear to be different species.  This is a nice photo comparison of the sexes from ARKive.  There are some gorgeous photos of Ladybird Spiders on the Spiders of North West Europe website, including an image of possibly Eresus sandaliatus submitted by Dimitris Tzortzakis  from Kreta, Greece.  That wouldn’t be you, would it???

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Possibly Carolina Wolf Spider

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Burrowing Wolf Spider ?
Location:  cheney ks
September 18, 2011 5:42 pm
I have been finding these holes on my property this summer while watering the garden.
I decided to investigate and dig up the hole and see what type of insect was making these holes.
I believe it’s a Burrowing Wolf Spider from looking at photos on your site but I could be wrong .
Signature: Chris Harris

What’s In that Hole???

Hi Chris,
Thank you for a wonderful submission.  We opened your email yesterday afternoon, but we knew this was going to be a labor intense posting and we did not want to rush through it, so we waited until after some social commitments were fulfilled.  We are very excited that you submitted a photo of the hole as well as its occupant.  We agree that this is a Wolf Spider, and we are relatively certain that it is in the genus Hogna, and though we believe it is a Carolina Wolf Spider, Hogna carolinensis, we have a few nagging doubts.

possibly Carolina Wolf Spider

The hairy orange chelicera or fangs and the other facial characteristics are a near perfect match to a Carolina Wolf Spider photo posted to BugGuide, but not all the Carolina Wolf Spiders posted there have such distinctive orange fangs.  The BugGuide info page on the species provides this information:  “The carapace is dark brown with gray hairs (lighter in males) and usually without distinct markings. The abdomen is brown with a somewhat darker median stripe. (1)  Orange paturons (chelicera) and black around the the ‘knees’ ventrally are characteristics of the species.(Jeff Hollenbeck)”  The dark abdominal coloration on your specimen does not seem to match any of the photos posted to BugGuide of the Carolina Wolf Spider, the majority of which have the darker median stripe.  Another confusing difference for your individual is that back of the knees are not black, but appear to be a lighter almost orange color.  We don’t know how much of this can be attributed to individual variation.  There are also many more species of Hogna listed on the genus page on BugGuide that are not represented by photos.  Kansas is listed as a known location for the Carolina Wolf Spider which is reported to be the largest Wolf Spider in North America.  BugGuide does not have any information on the burrowing habits of the species or the genus for that matter, however, we did locate some other links that mention the burrows.  The Carolina Wolf Spider Care Sheet on the PetBugs website has some helpful information including:  “Terrestrial, but will burrow to some extent.”  The Off Beat Pets website also contains helpful information including:  “Carolina wolf spider is terrestrial and does not build webs. It spends most of the time on the ground but may burrow to some extent.”  We have taken the liberty of deleting your street address to keep poachers who may want to collect and sell your Burrowing Wolf Spiders to collectors.  Again, thank you for providing us with a wonderful posting.

Face of a Wolf Spider: Hogna species

 

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Golden Orbweaver

On · Category: Orb Weavers Tagged With: · 1 Comment

gorgeous spider
Location: Eastern Kentucky
September 15, 2011 8:55 pm
I found this beautiful spider weaving a very intricate web outside my chicken house. I think it is a golden orb weaver, but would love clarification…
Signature: Amber

Golden Orbweaver

Hi Amber,
Thanks for appreciating the beauty in the female Golden Orbweaver, Argiope aurantia.  Your photo is a marvelous addition to our website.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination