Spider Identification
(more...)
Written by Jim on August 2nd, 2007 with
1,847 comments.
Read more articles on Spider Bite Pictures.
- [+] Digg: Feature this article
- [+] Del.icio.us: Bookmark this article
- [+] Furl: Bookmark this article
(more...)
Related spider information
Leave a Reply
it looks a lot like a recluse spider
I found a reddish brown spider, about the side of a nickel or dime, maybe bet wen that. anyways it plays dead…like if i sit still long enough(the spider and me are on my bed…) the spider will move. but if i start moving or shaking the bed, it freezes and curls up as if its been dead for days…. should i be concerned?????
i live on the border of Texas in eagle pass and i found a spider like the one on post #377 and I’m still trying 2 identify it and c if its poisonous or not wondering if anyone knows what it is???
I was walking up my stairs when I saw this dark black spider with a single bright yellow spot in the middle of its back. So, of course, I turned around to grab a flip flop to kill it, and it was gone. I looked everywhere, but I could never find it. I’ve been looking online for a picture of it, but I cannot find any. I’m worried its harmful. Can you help?
I live in Indiana and the spider was quarter sized.
I just found a spider i have never seen ever.
It had a brown body with short legs the legs had yellow stripes on it’s legs horizontally
I live in Ohio if it helps
I live in the uk and have ordered some items of clothing and some cheap jewellry from various places mainly uk but some china, hong kong and i think some america. Iv not had chance to pack my items away yet so all just been in a bag in my room. gone to get the clothes out today and found this spider amongst some dresses (these particular dresses from uk). Iv checked some items and found no more spiders but not checked everything as terrified of spiders. It runs very fast and was hard to catch under glass. As iv ordered items im worried it could be a poisonous spider from abroad?
Its very quick as mentioned and seems sensitive to sound and movement as If tap on glass it moves and when tried to lift glass a tiny bit to put paper under it ran from other side and tried to get out b4 i could even lift it properly. Is it possible that this spider could have laid eggs somewhere amongst other clothes or that there’ll be more spiders?
pictures included not v good as its small.
It appears to be brown with a black bum (back half of body) and has 2 tiny feeler things at front. Its bum appears longer than the body behind the head. Cant see how many eyes. Cant find any pics online close enough to it. please help as worried that its poisonous and that there will be more amongst the other clothes on my bed and am terrified of spiders anyway!!!!!!!
Please let me know thank you.
I HAVE A 6 YEAR OLD SON ABOUT A WEEK AGO HE HAD 2 LARGE SWOLLEN TIGHT BITES ON HIS LEG THEY ARE A LITTLE BIT RED AND HE SAYS THEY ITCH. THEY DON’T REALLY HAVE ANY PUSS BUT I DO SEE LIKE A SMALL OPENING IN THE MIDDLE.THEY DO GO AWAY AFTER A FEW DAYS.BUT HE HAS SINCE GOT 2 MORE 1 ON HIS BACK AND 1 NEAR HIS ANKLE.AND NOW MY OTHER SON HAS GOTTEN 1 ON HIS WRIST. I CHECKED THERE BEDS AND FOUND NOTHING.WHEN I APPLY A HOT WET RAG THEY SEEM TO GO DOWN IN SWELLING.DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THIS SOUNDS LIKE IT COULD BE A SPIDER BITE?
Jan,
The spider you found could be a brown widow, did you get a chance to see its belly to see if it has a reddish colored triangular shape? If so, then it is a brown widow.
The spider could also be a type of crab spider or house spider, if that is the case then it is harmless. Crab spiders are often found in southern states. They are especially active during summer months.
Hope this helps,
Jen
What kind of spider is this and can it harm me and my kids?
I was wondering if anyone would know what kind of spider this is. I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I found this one underneath a shelf in my kitchen.
Can you please help me identify this spider, its the first out of 2 that I have found in my yard…..? !
Thanks
Martha
What kind of spider is this?
He was on my door jamb this morning, and may have gotten inside, may not have. I am in south Florida, it has been raining like crazy lately. I’d say the leg span was about an inch and a half. I’ve looked at grass spiders and hobos all morning, but nothing seems to match this one’s abdomen! Help!
Brandy,
That spider you found is a type of crab spider, don’t worry it’s harmless!
Jen
Lynsey,
That spider looks like a house spider.
Martha,
The spider you found is called a Sowbug Killer. They are found throughout North America. They do not use webs to capture prey and live outside near stones and moss. They typically eat pillbugs and sowbugs.
Hope this helps,
Jen
Heather,
You’ve found a Desert Loxosceles, also known as a desert brown spider.
Hope this helps!
Jen
Jen,
I don’t think it was a brown widow if the spot has to be red on the abdomen. There was an interesting shape on her belly, but it wasn’t red. I’ve seen several black widows and the shape on this spider doesn’t match. Here is a link to pictures of that shape with the rest of the story. http://wp.me/pD1iv-7M
I ended up killing it a couple of days later when I sprayed for wasps that were getting into my house.
Thanks,
Jan
Did you identify the Florida spider #70? Thanks
I have caught a spider that looks exactly like a Brown Widow spider except that it does not have the “hour glass” on its belly. It had killed and was feeding on a Brown Recluse. I live in middle Tennessee and don’t believe that we have Brown Widows in this area, but cannot find any other spiders that look even vaguely like it. Could it be an immature spider. The coloration, body shape, and striped legs look exactly like one but again it has no hour glass. Thanks for your assistance.
we found a fluorescent yellow spider with black banded legs don’t know what it is. any help?
I currently live in Webster, MA and am trying to find out if this is a harmless garden spider or what? please help?
The spider has a white head, and kind of a black body with two yellow stripes going down the side, It has 8 long legs kind of reddish brown in color.
I am trying to figure out what this spider is. it has a white head with kind of a black body with two yellow stripes going down either side of the under belly. It has 8 long legs kind of reddish brown in color. Is this a harmless garden spider or I live in Webster, MA
Thank You
I found this spider outside under my bedroom window sill. It’s really cool looking but what kind of spider is it?
I found a spider in a corner in my mother room… its not very large, but its strange. I’ve never seen a spider quite like it, so I’m trying to figure out what it is. it has, a V shaped abdomen, and from the back, it has two horn shaped things sticking out… they are white. its body is mostly a transparent orange/tan color, an its legs have black stripes on them… can any one tell me if it may be poisonous, and maybe what it is called?
I’ve found a couple of spiders in and on the outside of my house that look EXACTLY like the ones in #50 and #595, and I live in the same general area of those posts as well (just north of Seattle). I did a little research online and I think the species is Callobius severus, which is apparently only found in the Pacific Northwest. Also not dangerous.
We were up in the Up of Michigan and found a dead spider. The legs were at least 5-6″ long. Any idea of what it was?
I don’t have a picture, but I found this one in a plastic wagon outside. It has the same body shape of the black widow but has a red stripe on its top nothing on the underside and is black everywhere else. i don’t know what it is i have seen one like this before.
Ah, this has been bothering me for a while. Everyone says this spider is a corn spider, but corn spiders aren’t fluffy or round, from what I’ve seen.
I found this spider in my garage when I was a kid in Podunk Center, Iowa.
It was about the size of a 6 year old’s closed fist, very fluffy looking, with fluffy legs, that were kinda stocky, and it had a yellow and black abdomen, while the rest was black. I was walking in the garage to get something and it came darting out and chased me out of the garage, that jerk. Anyone know of any biggish, fluffy northern spiders?
Also, is it just safe to say any of the strange spiders I find in my back yard are garden spiders? I mean, there’s ones with bright green abdomens and ones that are deep red, they’re all so pretty, and I’ve never gotten bit by a spider outside before.
Also, Wade, Brown widows don’t have to have red spots. They can be black, yellow, and brown, too.
i got bit by a spider yesterday in a building. the place has many spiders and i didn’t exactly see what bit me. i have two little dots on my toe and my toe is completely swollen. it itches a whole lot and i haven’t been to a doctor yet. i have other bites that are on my feet but none of the other ones swelled up like this one. HELP!!! have no idea what kind of spider it is and i need to know whether i should go to the doctor or not.
Thanks
Oh also, the skin around the bite is harder than my other toes. Is this a problem? It hurts but i don’t know if it is truly that serious.
Matt- # 1646- That appears to be a female Golden Silk Orbweaver, though your pic is kinda far away.
kayla – #1707
What you have looks like a parson spider. They do bite, and they don’t spin webs. The ‘bum’ as you say can appear black if the the spider hasn’t eaten in a while, and the one you have looks fairly hungry. The females are generally faster and jumpier than the males in my observation- so what you have might be a female. The females lay eggs somewhere (usually low to the ground in a crevice) and cover them in silk- and they protect them fiercely until hatching. The baby spiders are so small that they are hard to see (but you will notice them) without a magnifying glass- but they can generally be collected with a paintbrush into a glass jar and safely removed (if the momma isn’t around).
It is best to be rid of this spider as their bite can cause allergic reactions, although they generally wont bite unless provoked and/or starving. It is unlikely that the one you have there has laid eggs in your clothing- you would see a gum-ball sized white cocoon looking things thats very sticky and soft in the middle- it would be readily apparent. If you did and they did hatch- the baby spiders are generally not dangerous as thier fangs are much too small to pierce skin of any creature other than the tiniest of insects (and hence they will usually eat mostly each other unitl one of them is big enough to capture other prey).
Can someone tell me what kind of spider this is? We found it surrounded by a lot of its babies in an empty catfood bucket:
Thanks!
elliot
Okay… Brown spider, large abdomen with white dots, furry brown legs. With legs spread, probably the size of a nickel or quarter. (Note: There is some insulating foam on the spider, I was filling cracks near my windows and got some on the spider, that’s also the white foamy stuff all over the plant)
Location: Southern Florida (back yard)
Web: No info
I don’t know what kind of spider this is but I found it outside my window.
I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of spider the attached is. I have severe arachnophobia and saw this spider in a new house we were thinking of buying, but if it’s poisonous, I will likely not buy the house. The basement of the house has a bunch of typical webs in the corners and stuff.
Also – just a general question, but is there something you can do to prevent any spiders from entering your house? A spray, or one of those plug-in high pitch frequency things?
Best Regards,
Kristina
I live in Maryland and yesterday late afternoon my son noticed this big spider at the bottom of our deck steps. It has what I assume is babies on the back in sacs. Have any idea what this is?
Cheryl
have seen these spiders all over our house, ranging frm smaller then a dime to the size of a quarter or larger. I have no idea what kind of spider these are. The one in the picture was in my bedroom in my trash can. I hope you can identify it! Thank you!
Kelsey
This spider is in central florida outside, but notice the web work (thick zig zag in the back) there was two on the web.
Thanks
Tom
Hi, my little sister got bit by a little spider that was crawling in my bed. It is very small, brown, hairy, and what looks like to be 3 yellow-ish rings around it butt thing. It seems like it plays dead. I thought it was dead because i tried to smash it, but when i went to pick it up to flush it, it started crawling around. I think it must be its defense mechanism. Please help!
p.s. I live in southern California by the Joshua tree national park.
Early morning, central Mexico, 6200 feet altitude, I found a cluster of tiny red spiders and would be grateful for an identification. Each is about 3/16″ across including legs, red body, very dark red-black legs. They haven’t bitten anyone and I suspect are recently hatched.
Help, found this in my yard last night..I live in South Florida…Is this a Brown Recluse??? I’m freaking out…It’s probably laying eggs everywhere, what do I do??
This spider was in my bedroom here in Michigan, USA. I believe it is the one that bit me about 3 days ago. The bites are very red and raw looking and are painful and itchy. There are 3 of them very close together and they look like small blisters. I’ve emailed the pic. The spider was about 3/4″ including it’s legs. It appeared to have black and gray striped legs and the body was primarily black. The body was elongated and not round. It had overlapping gray pyramid shapes on it’s black body. Hopefully someone can let me know what it is. Thanks.
Hi, my girlfriend found this in our daughter’s room today and I was wondering what kind of spider it was.
We’ve done research but can’t seem to find anything about a small black spider with silver back (like the gorilla).
Thanks,
Tyler
hi my name is Kimberly i got bit by something in Arizona and I have no clue what it was. its on my check and everyone in my family has it in the same spot. it looks like about a 1/2 inch scratch thats kinda indented but not really.. please please please help me. thanks.
hello my name is linda jones. me and my loved one just moved here to myrtle beach south Carolina and we are currently living in a under kept APT./Motel. on the wall just one door down from mine there is a single (very small) black and white spider just sitting on the wall. it never moves unless i blow on it. its got the body of a black widow but a lot smaller. and on its backside it has white spots. the rest of the body is plain black. i would just like to know what kind of spider it is!
I live in north eastern AZ. I saw a spider in my shed yesterday. He was big. Not as large as a tarantula but about two thirds the size. He was light brown and his body was flat and squarish. The body was the size of a quarter. Its legs were a bit furry and about 1inch in length. Can you help identify it? Thanks
i’m from mid Michigan USA, and the spider i found dropped out of a pine tree almost on my head, it was about the size of a half dollar, maybe slightly smaller, the only distinct features i cud make out were large venom sacs on its fangs, it was fuzzy, and had 2 small tufts of fur making its abdomen look like a wolf head almost. i can say for sure it is NOT a wolf spider and i looked through all 17 pages on this site as well as many others and didn’t find anything conclusive. the fangs were not furry, but a majority of the rest was. i cannot remember what markings were on its back but it had some. i let it go after i took the picture, i should have kept it until i identified it. any help is appreciated.
if you find a spider that has no hair on it and its is brown with a Chevron its is called a hobo spider and they are poisonous but not deadly so far.
This is a spider that we found on the side of my house! I have small children and don’t relish the thought of them getting bit by some spider that is poisonous! We killed this one but would appreciate knowing if it might have little friends or babies out there somewhere! Could you please let me know what I am looking at and what eggs look like?
Scared and concerned Mom,
in western new york!
Dear Rachel #22,
It is not a Brown Recluse.
Okay so I was just curious. I live in Alaska and we have these little orange spider about the size of a chigger. but they can be chiggers cause its too cold up here for them. any help would be awesome thanks.
PS it hurts really bad when they bite you and they are all over neon orange.
I killed a spider today in my house. It was quite small, but I could see features plainly enough. It was black, but the top of it had a white stripe. And it’s butt was a red color. Almost orange. I need to know what to do. If there is more than one. Do you think it is poisonous? I live in the mountainous part of Arizona, if that will help at all. Thank you so much.
I live in Wexford County in the lower part of Michigan. I was watering the garden when I found this spider in the flowers. It was about 1 inch in length. I don’t know what it is, can anyone help me???
What the heck is this? it’s about half the size of a dime, toe to toe.
I have a spider with yellow body, four black spots on top,brown and white long legs. What is it!?
Rachel #22.
hope you find your answer!
I don’t know if i agree with the others when they say that your spider might be a recluse. I think it might be a wolf spider which are very common in New York. We used to live 20 min from Rochester and saw them almost everyday. All the same I would look more into because i could be wrong
It is not a Recluse spider if it does not have the tell tale fiddle design on its body. The fiddle design starts at its eyes and extends down its back. The base of the fiddle design starts at the eyes; the long neck of the fiddle design is extending down the spiders back towards its body. Many innocent spiders are killed by people thinking they are poisonous when they are not. Most spiders are not poisonous and mean us no harm. So please look up pictures of a brown recluse and know its markings by heart. There are many on the internet. The brown Recluse also has six eyes. Three sets of two if that helps with any identifications.
The spiders in #97 look similar to sand dune spiders which are a pretty harmless species. #22 looks like a wolf spider which is commonly mistaken for a Recluse
I found this spider while cleaning up some brush. Everyone I’ve asked says they’ve never seen anything like it. I live in north Alabama near the Tennessee state line.
I found this spider on my arm in the middle of the night. i sleep in the freezing cold air conditioned basement in lower Denver, Colorado. we had an addition to the house and i believe they are coming from the new unfinished basement. this one that i’m sending a picture of is 3/4 inch to a full inch in length. he is in a jar right now and not too happy!
At my work i tend to see many of these small about 1 inch (including legs) spiders that are either white or a very white cream colour, they have two red lines on their back and do not seem to be aggressive in anyway. They are seen most outside crawling around some of the old broken down equipment. Any ideas of what they are called?
Hi we saw a spider about 3 inches across with it’s legs stretched on our wall. We ran to get help, but then it scurried away. We can no longer find it, please help us with the identification process so that we can get the help we need. Thank you.
God Bless.
This little guy (or girl) has set up house on my porch in Austin, TX. The web is of really good size, easily 2-3 feet in diameter. I don’t mind him being there so long as he isn’t poisonous (which from what I’ve read he doesn’t seem to match the descriptions of any that are dangerous). I would like to know what kind of spider it is though…
I would say his carapace and abdomen are about a 1/2 inch, and his legs don’t seem long enough to be a recluse. I was thinking wolf spider, but from what I gather they don’t web??
Thanks so much!
Hello I was wondering what kind of spider this was. It was found on a wayside going towards Marquette, Michigan on 28.
I’d like a name for this spider I found on my vacation in the northern part of Greece, thanks!
Hello, I am trying to figure out what kind of spider this is, as we have never seen one before. I live in Minnesota. This was hanging in a web outside my back door. Looked big when I saw it in the web, but it was scrunched up. My friend killed it and she noticed it was bigger than we thought….what is this? is it poisonous? I have three small children!!!! Please help! Thanks!!!
I have been watching this spider grow bigger and bigger at my kitchen window…..My husband says it is a wolf spider and I say now it is time to kill it as it has got neighbors moving in with it.
It has caught and ate two grasshoppers about 3″ long in the last 2 days.
Is this a wolf spider and how is the best way to keep more from coming into my house? My husband keeps telling me to beware of brown recluse spiders but I have no clue what they look like.
Unfortunately for him, I am terrified or spiders and snakes.
I’m talking to Cindy #69 i just found a spider crawling on me when I was sitting on my couch but it freaked me out and I want to know what kind of spider it is because in up in Montana.
We found this spider out by our garage. I’ve never seen a spider like this and after about 2 hours on the internet trying to figure out what it is I’ve given up.
About 1-1.5″ big, huge white abdomen with black connected diamonds I guess?
I found this spider in the basement Ive been seeing them for weeks. You rarely see any of them upstairs. I’m living in Louisville Kentucky, the spider has a bright red upper body and a kinda clear/brown lower body and is about 1/2 inch long. I would like to know what kinda spider this is, if they are dangerous, and how to get rid of them. Thanks!!
Hi my name is Mindy and i found a spider that has a gold body with dots on it and black and yellow stripes on the legs. i was just wondering if it is poisonous. i live in Minnesota and i have small children. thank you for your help. it is about the size of the two knuckles on my pointer finger.
I have seen this spider outside on my covered back porch for a couple weeks now. I live in central Alabama. I don’t see a web for this spider, and today I caught it hanging out on my window. Can anyone identify it? Also, those are 2″ blinds in the pic…so the spider is between 5″ to 6″.
hey my cousin whom is deathly afraid of spiders found one one my front porch that looks a lot like #7. it has two bumps on the top portion of it’s body and is green with a brown design. this is the second one we have seen and are very curious as to what kind they are if you could tell us that would be fantastic.
hello, I live in Wisconsin by greenbay oshkosh area and i found a spider in the door way of my shed in my back yard. it is brown with black oval shaped stripes on the back and white spots in the middle of each black stripe the legs seem see through with black stripes. it was in a sheet web too. could you help me identify it?
#32 is a St. Andrew’s Cross spider. It’s not venomous or aggressive.
This spider was living in the corner of our (outdoor) window which it had spun a web across on our back deck. It is quite large with large black fangs which are hard to see in my photos. It also has a white, almost figure 8 shape on its back. Its legs are red in the sections closest to its body. I live in NY and have never seen anything like it. Does anyone have any idea what type of spider it is? Dangerous? It sure looks like a bite from this spider would definitely hurt! Any help appreciated! Thank you.
just found a small spider in my house it had black and white striped legs and body w/ a red butt any info
Found this behind a bookcase in Saudi Arabia, I have been getting bitten by something in my sleep, this may not be the culprit as I killed something much smaller scurrying on the bed, but didn’t get a good look at it. Was wondering what this spider is?
#1703-geneva
I believe it is a harmless garden spider. Most female garden spiders are very colorful and elaborate and make a new and precise web each evening.
Sorry that should have been #1703-nancy who had a spider like #377
this is for # 80 that’s window spider, very venomous
Sorry, no photo. This is a spider that was on my child’s play cottage. It was very large, dark brown (not black!) w/ very little yellow spots/dots on it’s back. We live in northern Michigan and the cottage is in dune grass next to a red pine. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!
to #’s 22 & #89. Do you think these 2 spiders are the same spider? I have these also all over my back yard. I have been bit 3 times by these nasty things and it’s not fun! I have done a lot of research and I think these Spiders are called HOBO spiders. After I got bit, about 2 days later the bite got a gnarly blister on top of my skin. I went to the Hospital and they gave me a Shot of antibiotics and then very strong antibiotics for 7 days. Then the other day, I got bit again but on my other leg. I think I get bit when i’m outside watering. So, look into the HOBO spider and see what you think.
Okay so my sister is freaking out about this little black spider that she found in her room. I went in to check and I found 2 more under her bed. She “thinks” (but i’m not sure) that she has 2 spider bites but they just look like mosquito bites. The spiders scurries away to fast so I can’t get a picture. We live in Washington.
Hi,
I found the spider, in the attached picture, on my property. Can you please identify?
Thank you so much.
We say this spider in the Traverse City, Michigan area in early August. We have no idea what it is and have never seen one like it. Thanks for the help.
Terry G.
Hey could you please tell us what type of spider this is? We live in Paducah Kentucky and my hubby does installs at peoples homes. He is always running into spiders and critters- but this one is NASTY looking. We are from Michigan so we have no idea what this bad boy is but it is UGLY! Thanks! Some have said maybe a banana spider- or an Australian banded something.. or maybe even a widow. I would appreciate you taking a look! Thanks so much!
Jami T.
Hello,
This fellow has spun a web several times in July, and last night. He takes it all down before sunrise and apparently spins sometime shortly after sunrise.
His about 1″ at the body and 3″ extended
Very rambunctious…I have not molested him at all and he appears to pose. He does shake his web and shows incredible strength.
Very impressive. I am giving him a wide berth, (I go no where near him)
He likes to lay traps, I almost walked into him and was very grateful that the moon showed me his position before I ended up with him on my face.
Thanks
Dave G of Hollywood FL
Ken, Terry and Jami,
The spiders you guys have found are definitely a type of garden spider or orb weaver. Not to worry, these spiders are harmless and actually do lots of good things for us like eat bugs! Feel free to look up more about these spiders at BadSpiderBites.com
Thanks!
Jen
I found this spider near the light on the outside of my house. It’s only out at night, catching moths that fly into its huge web when they’re circling the light. I live near Fresno, California- across the street from an orchard, if that’s relevant.
The spider has a huge butt, thick legs that seem striped and is insanely fast moving across its web. The web started out large and intricate, but has frayed over the week… If you can name it, that’d be great. I’m so curious, and refuse to kill the beautiful spider. Thanks!
I live in Cleveland Ohio and I found this spider in my basement I have never seen before, can you tell me what kind it is. I’m feeding him flys for now and will set him free soon.
Dennis Leonetti
Glenda,
The spider you found is not a Wolf Spider but an Orb Weaver, you can tell by it’s markings, colors and of course by the web that it spins. An Orb Weaver is a type of Garden Spider and it is harmless!
Hope this helps,
Jen
Saw this spider while geocaching in the Traverse City, Mi area. That’s about as close as we wanted to get to it.
A friend saw a white spider on a daisy in Montana. Any ideas?
I know the name of the spider that #70(Karen) found in her yard it is a jewel spider…. most people say they are harmless because their fangs are small and weak but their spikes are sometimes pointy and feel like a bit
I live in southeastern PA. I’m wondering what kind of spider this is. Looks similar to a St. Andrews Cross spider but I’m not in Australia.
This critter was crawling on our wall when I noticed it. I was too chicken to get close to it to kill it, and it got away. In the middle of the night last night, I woke up to something crawling across my face, so instinctively I swatted at it, heard a crunch and got bit by this creeper. I couldn’t find the assailant, but I have a picture of this spider. I live in Baltimore, Maryland, and I know we have a few common ones, like the recluse and black widow, but it wasn’t either of them. This was a reddish color, which I’ve never seen in this area, moved slowly and calmly, tiny hairs on the abdomen, about 1/2 inch or a little bigger.