Spider Identification Guide
Use this page to help identify a spider by comparing its size, color, markings, and body shape with our library of spider pictures.
Below, you can also browse visitor-submitted spider photos and identification discussions. While not every match is exact, these examples may help narrow down what you found.
If your concern is a possible bite rather than the spider itself, see our spider bite pictures and treatment information for additional guidance.
Spider Identification Chart: Match What You See
Find the row that sounds most like your spider. A description alone can never confirm a dangerous species, but it can tell you what deserves a closer look. Where you live matters too, since most species keep to known ranges.
| What you see | Most likely spider | Dangerous? | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shiny black, round belly, red hourglass on the underside | Black widow | Yes | Black widow guide |
| Tan or brown, dark violin mark behind the head, plain uniform legs, six eyes | Brown recluse | Yes | Brown recluse identification |
| Tan or brown widow shape, orange hourglass, spiky round egg sacs | Brown widow | Mildly | Brown widow guide |
| Brown or gray, hairy, a lighter stripe down the back, hunts on the ground | Wolf spider | No | Wolf spider guide |
| Black, fuzzy, compact, with a white or orange dot on the back, moves in jumps | Bold jumping spider | No | Jumping spider guide |
| Brown with chevron markings on the abdomen, builds a funnel-shaped web | Hobo spider or another funnel weaver | No, despite the reputation | Hobo spider guide |
| Bright silver belly, hangs under a flat web near water | Silver orb spider | No | Silver orb guide |
| Large yellow-and-black spider with a zigzag band in a wheel web | Garden spider (Argiope) | No | Garden spider guide |
| Long yellow body, golden silk web strung high between trees | Golden silk orb-weaver, the banana spider | No | Banana spider guide |
| Glossy brown, round belly with faint pale marks, messy tangle web indoors | False widow (Steatoda) | Mildly, often mistaken for a widow | Compare photos |
| Bright green, long-legged, in gardens and orchards | Orchard spider, sometimes miscalled a green widow | No | Dangerous spider overview |
| White or yellow spider sitting motionless in a flower | Crab spider | No | Compare photos |
| Huge, fast, tan, in desert country, not in a web | Camel spider, not a true spider at all | No venom | Camel spider facts |
Two honest cautions. First, color and markings vary inside every species, so treat the chart as a starting point and confirm against real photos. Second, range matters more than people expect: a “brown recluse” spotted far outside the central and southern United States is usually a lookalike, most often a wolf spider or a funnel weaver.
If your real question is about a bite rather than the spider, start with the spider bite pictures and bite identification chart instead.
Reader Encounters: Identification Wins From the Archive
Three condensed reader stories that show identification working the way it should: calmly, with a container and a photo, and without anyone getting bitten.
Shawn: the doorway monster was an orb weaver
Shawn walked out his front door into a quarter-bodied spider hanging six inches from his face in a web the size of a card table, and retreated indoors with, in his words, a few choice expletives. With the porch light on it turned into a scene from Charlotte’s Web: a big orb weaver calmly eating a moth in the middle of its wheel. Another reader on this page identified it for him. Startling, harmless, and gone in a few days, which is the usual orb weaver story.
DeeJay: the spiky egg sacs gave it away
DeeJay’s mailbox, wash bucket, porch chair, and bike seat all turned out to be hosting widow spiders, and the round egg sacs covered in spikes, like tiny naval mines, are what identified the brown widows. With an immune-compromised daughter at home she could not fog the place, so it became patrol work: flip the furniture, check the undersides, crush the sacs. The spiky sac is the single most reliable brown widow tell, worth knowing anywhere they are spreading.
Addie: the pat-a-pat in the dark
Addie heard a soft pat-a-pat-a-pat near her pillow at night and talked herself out of it, until it crossed her husband’s head two minutes later. The tan, velvety spider with a two-inch leg span went into a bird-feeder tube and got a portrait taken: a fishing spider, almost certainly a stowaway from a camping trip, big enough to be alarming and harmless enough to release outside. Catch, photograph, compare, release. That is the whole method, and nobody had to get close.
Hi Chris,
That spider looks to be a Barn Spider. They are usually found in the southwest, and eastern parts of the US. They like shady spots – like barns, caves, cliffs, etc. They aren’t harmful in any way.
It is also possible it is a type of Orb Weaver, which is similar to a Barn Spider and again harmless.
-Jen
Craig,
The spider in the top photo is an Orb Weaver, they are harmless and actually help us out by eating pesky bugs. They are called Orb Weavers because they build a brand new web each night.
The second spider is a Silver Garden Spider, typically found in parks, fields and obviously gardens usually in the summer. Like Orb Weavers, Garden Spiders are harmless.
Hope this helps,
Jen
Sara,
That spider looks as if it is some type of Orb Weaver or Common House Spider.
I have a spider with a yellow line down its back and a yellow circles on either side… looks scary like its staring at me.. can u help me I.D it? It’s legs are hairy, banded, brown and black stripes.AA
I keep finding spiders like these in the downstairs of my house, which is sort of like a half-basement. They’re in the corner of the laundry room, or in the bathroom, whether it’s crawling up the shower door or wall, or trying to get out of the sink where they’ve fallen. I live in Boise, ID, and I’m not sure what goes for a “common” spider around here but I’m hoping it’s something typical? One or two every now and then is ok, but too many spiders around the same time frame makes me jumpy.
This spider was found in my driveway in joliet,il. it was the size of a half dollar(legs and all). it had a brite yellow body with black markings and black hairy legs with yellow stripes ONLY at the bottom half of its legs.
Dear Teresa #918,
the spider you have there is definitely a wolf spider. I can’t think of anything else. You’re welcome!!
Sorry I don’t have a picture. I REALLY wish I did. Last night, my daughter found a really big spider crawling on the carpet in the family room. I’ve never seen it before. At first I thought it was a wolf spider, but no. It didn’t have the same markings on its back. They are almost identical, though. The spider had a cream colored stripe running down its back. Can you please help me!? We live in Johnson County Kansas. Reply as soon as possible, please. If you sent a picture it would be REALLY helpful. Thanks!
-Kevin
THIS IS FOR # 69 i THINK THAT SPIDER IS WHAT THEY CALL A HOBO SPIDER ITS BITE IS ONE JUST AS THE BROWN RECLUSE SPIDER I’VE BEEN LEARNING LOTS ABOUT SPIDERS CAUSE I LIVE IN A PLACE FULL OF THEM I FEEL LIKE I’M LIVING IN THERE HOUSE NOT MY OWN.
Hi Al,
That spider is an orb weaver.
Orb weavers are harmless and actually do us a lot of good because they eat a lot of pesky bugs.
Hope this helps!
I found a flesh colored little spider in my bed – killed it. The next morning – woke up and noticed itching on my right hand and two tiny little holes. It continued to itch all day and by the end of the day – it was swollen, red and oozing. That evening, I had a fever, sore throat, ear ache and my teeth hurt. That lasted about 24 hours and then stopped, but still don’t feel very good. 3-days later, the site is raised, red and a circle with an eye. Don’t know if I should go to the doctor or just let it go and it will go away.
Any ideas?
Theresa
HI can anyone help me identify this spider? it is medium sized about the diameter of a quarter, Black with three spots on the left right and back side with a blue/green spot that looks like eyes. I live in North Central Florida and found this on my truck hood when it was parked in my garage this past week end Nov 1 2009
Earlier today I fell asleep while outside in my lawn chair, when I awoke I discovered a spider about oh… close to an inch in length, that was shiny an black, with red dots on its back, in my hair. I knocked the spider out of my hair an it began crawling away. My first thought was that it was a black widow, but I did not get a look at the underside of the spider. I have never heard of a black widow with red dots. Please help me identify this spider, I do not think I was bitten, I am not in any pain.
I live in Maryland and came across this spider while I was raking leaves in my backyard. It is bigger than a nickel but a little smaller than a quarter. It has a fat yellow mushroom looking mid section. It has red legs protruding from its mid section then they turn clear with black stripes. I’m extremely curious to know what type of spider this is. I’ve never seen one like this before.
Hello! We spotted this little cutie by the beach on a big rock in Ventura, California. He was really small, maybe about an inch and a half. I took a few shots of him but I’d really like to know what kind of spider he is?
Trying to find out if this spider is poisonous live in Louisiana and it it quite a large spider.
Hey Karen # 70 and Carole # 1308
The spider is a orb weaver spider and their bite is non-toxic.
In response to number 69 question that is a recluse and it is extremely toxic if bitten and left untreated it can kill most of the tissue around the bite.
What kind of spider was 915? I have had this one in and around my home.
Thanks
Hi me again Anita
I am still waiting for a reply to my question #1430 about the picture of the spider posted by Karen #70. I just found another picture that is a closer picture of the spider at #1308 Carole.
Hello:
Karen #70 sent in picture of spider she found in Florida. Here is both front and back of same spider I also found in Florida. Does anyone know what it’s name is?
I have lived in Southern California for several years and until this fall, have never seen either one of the spiders depicted in the photo. The one identified by the #1 can be over an inch long (not including the legs) and is rarely seen in the daytime hours. During the last couple months, on a daily basis, they drop down from the Oak trees just before dark, creating a single strand of web that they anchor to the ground and use to return to the trees just before sunrise. They build a fairly large web each night and they destroy it every morning before their ascent. I’ve found several inquiries regarding this particular spider posted throughout this site.
I know next to nothing about the #2 spider in the bottom half of the photo. First sighting was this afternoon. He was sitting in the sun on the side of my shed and there was no web in sight. He seems similar to the one posted in #1283. I would sure like hear from someone familiar with either one of these Arachno-beasts.
I just saw the most amazing spider crawling across the road while I was out running. He (she) was BRIGHT yellow, the body, with what almost look like chines writing on the back — at first I thought it was a spider carrying a yellow peanut M & M, His legs were black and red. Any Ideas ? I live in suburbs of Philadelphia.
I’m in my room and I just got bit by a spider on my ankle.
The spider had was a little bit smaller than a quarter, had a black head, gray body, and red legs. Here is a picture as compared to a quarter:
I was just bit 15 minutes ago and stings. I also feel a little light-headed, but I think its all in my head from reading spider bite symptoms. The stinging is real though. I read somewhere to put toothpaste on it to prevent further infection, so I did.
Please get back to me ASAP, I need to know if I need to goto the hospital tonight.
The spider I have hanging outside my window looks like the spider Donna McKune has in #7.
i don’t have any photos of the spider i saw today. I opened the basement door and took a couple steps down the stairs and noticed something spinning by the ceiling. so i looked and it was a spider on a web with all it’s legs together spinning its body in a circular motion. and as i backed away from it it stopped spinning and it had long skinny legs at least an inch and a black body. It freaked me out, so if anyone could help in identifying it that would be great. i’ll see if i can get a picture of it to post.
I found this spider in my aunts backyard next to a small tree. She lives in San jose, California, were not sure what kind of spider it is ?
I also have found the thick looking string-like silk hanging from an entrance way into our garage. The spider which is brown, about the size of a dime with a white or creme color stripe down its back has made its way in thru the garage. Somehow it has gotten up into our house and we’ve caught several on sticky boards. Their population keeps increasing and I’m terrified of being bitten. Does anyone else have these? What are they?
Thanks, Anne 401,
October 26, 2009
i just found this spider outside my front door.
i live in rapid city, SD.
I know this is not really on topic, but i have been noticing these large 1-2in. legspan spider all over ourbushes. They are brown and a dark orange with wierd patterns on them. So please, if you could identify this spider it would really help because they are huge! and they are really creeping me out. sorry i dont have a pic:(
Can you identify this spider? It was hanging above my garbage can.
I caught a spider outside of a building today. It is about the size of a quarter and black and fuzzy. It has a thin brown line running verticle down its thorax. It also sprayed a white mist from its rear inside the bug house. Any ideas?
I found the spider in a hostos plant. It’s about the size of a dime. Orange with green spots. I live in South Jersey.
thanks
John.
We have a spider on our screen door in Marfa Texas with alternating yellow and brown striped legs and a body ( about 3-4 inches) that is white towards head and gets progressively darker as gets towards the other end. Tried to send in a photo but server rejecting address. Do you know what kind it is? I will keep trying to send photo
i was scrolling through the photos on here of spiders to determine what kind of spider i found at work. under spider identification there is a pic of one that is the same shape as the one in the pic but smaller and lighter in color. it is comment number #97. October 30th, 2007 at 7:45 pm. what kind is it??
I live in Oregon, near Eugene in the mountains… we were walking in the forest and when we got home i had this HUGE spider on my backpack… it is black with tan stripes on the legs the body is black with some white, kind of diamond shape spots on its back, it is hairy, and it has a couple of little horns on its back and i noticed one on the abdomen also… i don’t have a picture… any one have a clue?!?!
I found a spider today at work.. i work in louisville, kentucky.
It was furry and had a tanish kakaii lemon shaped body with long legs (for its size) the same color as its body with black stripes, but when it opened its legs i noticed the top half of its legs were a shinny red. Curled up it was about 1 inch long but with its legs stretched out it is easily 2 1/2 inches long. Its web was a right triangle shape going down a post across a half wall then back up to the first point diagonally. Also it moves very fast.
It looks just like this one someone else was asking about: #7
I found a spider today at work.. i work in louisville, kentucky.
It was furry and had a tanish kakaii lemon shaped body with long legs (for its size) the same color as its body with black stripes, but when it opened its legs i noticed the top half of its legs were a shinny red. Curled up it was about 1 inch long but with its legs streched out it is easily 2 1/2 inches long. Its web was a right triangle shape going down a post across a half wall then back up to the first point diagonally. Also it moves very fast.
I found a spider today at work.. i work in louisville, kentucky.
It was furry and had a tanish kakaii lemon shaped body with long legs (for its size) the same color as its body with black stripes, but when it opened its legs i noticed the top half of its legs were a shinny red. Curled up it was about 1 inch long but with its legs streched out it is easily 2 1/2 inches long. Its web was a right trangle shape going down a post across a half wall then back up to the first point dianglely. Also it moves very fast.
It looks just like this one someone else was asking about:
I was wondering what it was and if it was posionious?!?!
PLEASE HELP!
i just caught a spider just like #28, i was wondering what it is? i found it in my shower not near a web that i would normally see of a spider this size
please and thanks
i found a spider like robyn #95 did . Could you help me identify it. Thank you.
What type of spider is this?
I’ve seen a few of these crawling around my house. They’re not very big, maybe 2 cm. Does anyone know if they are dangerous or just a pest? Thanks for any replies.
Spider a redish brown with large bulb like body with a straight dashed line from back to front in the middle of body…..with legs extened about the size of a quarter or a bit larger. Would like to have an answer asap. Thank You… Dorothy Lea
I have found a spider that looks like the one from #69. It has a black head that fades brown to its abdomen. The abdomen is grayish with one yellow and two white spots where it connects to the head. The leg are a copper-reddish color. I have a toddler in the house and would really like to know what it is. Sorry no picture. Thanks in advance.
hi i don’t have a pic of the spider i found so im going to explain of hat it looked like….it was really big like fat its body was yellow with black stripes allover. and the front of the body was kind of red. so can u please help me find out what kind it was. thanks
I sent a picture in a few moments ago with three spiders, all in one web. These spiders are INFESTED under the siding of my house, and come out at night.
They resemble a brown Recluse, however..I did not see a “violin” but saw small “dots” on their heads.
The smaller ones are almost see throughin a flashlight beam.
Please help me to discover if these are deadly B.R’s or not..
I HATE spiders, but cannot see killing them if they are not poisonous.
Connie
#22 This spider is not a brown recluse thou it looks similar. My nephew and I have been finding a lot of this same spider all over our patio.We live in Tennessee and have had a lot of rain lately,and they come up on the patio.They seam to live in the ground since there is no web anywhere around.I looked up poisonous spiders on the web and it’s not pictured.hope this bit of info helps.
I snapped this spider sitting on the back splash tiling in my kitchen. It is an incredibly small spider – the best way to compare would be to look at the enlarged bubbles of the grouting. That grout is no more than about 4 mm thick.
I am being bitten by these spiders and will wake up with bites. I’d like to get this issue under control but would like to start by identifying what kind of spider it is. So far none of the photos I’ve found on any website matches what this one looks like.
Thanks! I really appreciate it. Oh, and I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Sal # 87
I’m sure you’ve had this answered, but it is a brown widow.
What kind of spider is in #522. We found one on the wall by our front door in Placerville, CA and can’t find anything to identify it. It is orange, hairy about the size of a quarter and has 2 bumps on the side of its abdomen with 2 hole twords the middle of the back.