Spiders of the United States

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Spiders of the United States

Which Spiders Should You Be on the Lookout For This Spring?

It’s that time of year again for…SPIDERS!!

Many of us suffer from aracnophobia (the fear of spiders), but the truth is that many spiders aren’t harmful at all, and are in fact beneficial to have around.

This article will help you identify the spiders most common to the United States.

The Brown Recluse Spider

Spider Identification

An adult spider is 1/4 to 3/4 inch in body – a dark violin shape is located on the top of the leg attachment region with the neck of the violin pointing backward toward the abdomen. Unlike most spiders that have 8 eyes, the brown recluse has 6 eyes arranged in pairs – one pair in front and a pair on either side.

Habitat

The brown recluse spider is found in the United States from the east to the west coast, with predominance in the south.

Venom Toxicity

The brown recluse venom can cause significant cutaneous injury with tissue loss and necrosis.

The Black Widow Spider

Spider Identification

The body of an adult black widow is about 1/2 inch long. The female black widow is normally shiny black, with a red hourglass marking on the underside of the abdomen. The marking may range in color from yellowish orange to red and its shape may range from an hourglass to a dot.

Habitat

The black widow prefers woodpiles, rubble piles, under stones, in hollow stumps, sheds and garages. Indoors it can be found in undisturbed, cluttered areas in basements and crawl spaces.

Venom Toxicity

The Black Widow Spider can inflict a painful bite which can be fatal, especially to the young and elderly. Only a small amount of venom can cause serious illness, as the poison attacks the nervous system. Systemic envenomation usually results in headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, pyrexia, and hypertension. The pain around the bite area can be excruciating or it may go unnoticed. First aid and medical attention should be sought as soon as possible, if bitten. If you have a heart condition or other heart problems, you may need hospitalization.

The Red Widow Spider

Spider Identification

The red widow spider has a reddish-orange head, thorax, and legs with a black abdomen. The top of the abdomen usually has a row of red spots with yellow borders. This spider lacks a complete hourglass on the underside of the abdomen and instead usually has one or two small red marks.

Habitat

The red widow constructs its web in palmettos, rosemary, scrub oak, and other shrubs.

It has been found primarily in sand-pine scrub habitats in central and southeast Florida, specifically from Marion County to Martin County.

Venom Toxicity

The red widow spider is venomous and can be harmful to people. The female’s venom is a neurotoxin which causes sustained muscle spasm rather than local tissue injury. First aid and medical attention should be sought as soon as possible.

Males and immatures do not bite.

The Hobo Spider

Spider Identification

The hobo spider is brown in color and the adults measure roughly 1/3 to 2/3 inch in body length and 2/3 to 2 inches in leg span. Their abdomens have several chevron shaped markings. Males are distinctively different from females in that they have two large palpi (mouth parts) that look like boxing gloves. Females tend to have a larger and rounder abdomen when compared to males.

Habitat

Hobo spiders can be found anywhere in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. They rarely climb vertical surfaces and are uncommon above basements or ground level.

Venom Toxicity

Although the bite of the hobo spider is initially painless, the bite can be serious. After 24 hours, the bite develops into a blister and after 24-36 hours, the blister breaks open, leaving an open, oozing ulceration. Typically when the venom is injected, the victim will experience an immediate redness, which develops around the bite. The most common reported symptom is severe headache. Other symptoms can include nausea, weakness, fatigue, temporary memory loss and vision impairment. In any case, first aid and medical attention should be sought, if bitten, as and when any adverse health effects are observed.

The Funnel Web Grass Spider

Spider Identification

Funnel grass spiders are common outdoors and are occasionally found indoors. They are generally brownish or grayish with light and dark stripes near the head. They have long spinnerets and are moderate-sized (3/4 inch long). Grass spiders construct a large sheet web with a funnel they use as a retreat. These webs are commonly built on the ground, around steps, window wells, foundations, and low shrubs.

Habitat

These spiders are often called grass spiders because they construct their webs in tall grass, heavy ground cover, and the branches of thick shrubs. Rarely will a funnel web spider be seen indoors, except for an occasional wandering male. They are found mostly in the Pacific Northwest states.

Venom Toxicity

The bite of these spiders is of low risk to humans.

The Mouse Spider

Spider Identification

The mouse spider is a medium to large spider of up to 1 and 1/2 inches in body length. The male Mouse Spider often has a bright red head and elongated fangs.

Habitat

Mouse spiders are ground dwellers with burrows of more than 3 feet deep. The male often wanders about during the day on open ground, especially after rain, in search of females.

Venom Toxicity

The mouse spider is known to cause severe illness, especially to young children – similar to the Red-Back Spider. Although normally not aggressive, the male mouse spider will bite if provoked, and should be considered dangerous to humans. It has large hard fangs which can cause a deep painful bite. First aid and medical attention (ambulance) should be sought as soon as possible.

The Black House Spider

Spider Identification

Black house spider adults are about 1/2 inch in body length and of a dark brown to black velvet textured appearance.

Habitat

The black house spider spins a lacy, messy web and it prefers dry habitats in secluded locations. It is commonly found in window framing, under eaves, gutters, in brickwork, sheds, toilets, and among rocks and bark. Electric lights attract their prey – moths, flies, mosquitoes and other insects.

Venom Toxicity

The bite of the Black House Spider is poisonous but not lethal. Certain people bitten experience severe pain around the bite site, heavy sweating, muscular pains, vomiting, headaches and giddiness. First aid and medical attention (ambulance) should be sought as soon as possible.

The Wolf Spider

Spider Identification

A wolf spider adult is 1/2 inch to more than 1 inch in body length – mottled gray to brown in color, with a distinct Union Jack impression on its back. The female carries it’s young on its back.

Habitat

The wolf spider is a ground dweller, with a burrow retreat. It has a roving nocturnal lifestyle to hunt their prey and can move very rapidly when disturbed. Commonly found around the home, in garden areas with a silk lined burrow, sometimes with a lid or covered by leaf litter or grass woven with silk as a little fence around the rim of the burrow.

Venom Toxicity

The bite of the Wolf Spider is poisonous but not lethal. Although non-aggressive, they bite freely if provoked and should be considered dangerous to humans. The bite may be very painful. First aid and medical attention should be sought as soon as possible, particularly as to children or the elderly.

The Trapdoor Spider

Spider Identification

An trapdoor adult spider is about 1 and 1/2 inches in body length – brown to dark brown in color – heavily covered with fine hairs. The male has distinct boxing glove-shaped palps, that is, the two “sensory feelers” at front of its head.

Habitat

The trapdoor spider is a ground dweller, with a burrow retreat lined with silk of up to 10 inches in depth and around 1 inch in width. This spider prefers nesting in drier exposed locations and often has a wafer-like lid on the burrow entrance. Trap-Door Spiders are commonly found in the drier open ground areas around the home.

Venom Toxicity

The bite of the Trap-Door Spider is of low risk (non toxic) to humans. It is a non-aggressive spider and is usually timid but may stand up and present it’s fangs if harassed. Rarely bites but, if it does, it can be painful.

The Orb Weaving Spider

Spider Identification

An adult orb weaving spider is about 2/3 to more than 1 inch in body length. It has a bulbous abdomen which is often colorful and has a dark to light brown pattern. The common Golden Orb-Weaver Spider has a purplish bulbous abdomen with fine hairs.

Habitat

The orb weaving spider is often found in summer in garden areas around the home. They spin a large circular web of 6 feet or more, often between buildings and shrubs, to snare flying insects such as flies and mosquitoes.

Venom Toxicity

The bite of Orb-Weaving Spiders is of low risk (not toxic) to humans. They are a non-aggressive group of spiders. Seldom bite. Be careful not to walk into their webs at night – the fright of this spider crawling over one’s face can be terrifying and may cause a heart attack, particularly to the susceptible over 40 year olds.

Cellar Spider (Daddy Long Legs)

Spider Identification

Cellar spiders are fragile spiders, the body being 2–10 mm in length with legs which may be up to 50 mm long.

Habitat

The cellar spider hangs inverted in messy, irregular, tangled webs. These webs are constructed in dark and damp recesses, such as: caves, under rocks and loose bark, abandoned mammal burrows, and undisturbed areas in buildings, such as cellars (hence the common name “cellar spider”). They are also quite commonly found in warm, dry places, such as household windows and attics.

Venom Toxicity

That thing you always heard at summer camp about daddy longlegs being the most poisonous creature in the world, but with fangs too small to bite you? Not true. They don’t actually have fangs, and they can’t produce venom. According to Clouse, the rumor may have started during “the retelling by an American tabloid of a study in Australia on the venom of a daddy longlegs there; the problem is that in Australia, ‘daddy longlegs’ refers to a type of spider, also known as the cellar spider. If that’s not confusing enough, there’s another creature that sometimes goes by the name daddy longlegs: The crane fly.

The St. Andrews Cross Spider

Spider Identification

An adult is 1/4″ to 1/2″ in body length and has a striped yellow and brown abdomen as shown above. The St Andrews Cross Spider usually sits, upside down, in the middle of its web forming a cross or zipper pattern which is how it aquired its nickname “the zipper spider.

Habitat

This spider is a web-weaver usually found in summer in garden areas around the home. It is considered beneficial as it spins a large web to snare flying insects such as flies and mosquitoes.

Venom Toxicity

The bite of the St Andrews Cross spider is of low risk (non-toxic) to humans. They are a non-aggressive group of spiders.

The Huntsman Spider

Spider Identification

An adult huntsman spider varies greatly around 1/2″ in body length has long legs – the first 2 pairs of legs are longer than rear two. The diameter of an adult including legs may reach 2″. The huntsman spider is hairy – buff to beige brown in color, with dark patches on the body.

Habitat

A hunter that prefers to live under the flaking bark of trees, under flat rocks, and under eaves or within roof spaces of buildings. The Huntsman Spider often wanders into homes and is found perched on a wall. It is a shy, timid spider that can move sideways at lighting-fast speed when disturbed.

Venom Toxicity

The bite of Huntsman Spiders is of low risk (non toxic) to humans. They are a non-aggressive group of spiders. However, a large individual can give a painful bite. Beware in summer when the female Huntsman Spider is guarding her egg sacs or young.

The Tarantula

Spider Identification

On average, tarantulas measure 7 to 10 cm in length. However, they are capable of exceeding 30 cm. Tarantulas occur in a variety of colors, sizes and habitats. Many are black or brown in color and have hairy bodies. Tarantula species are distinguishable from other spiders by the dense body hair. Several species also bear distinct stripes along their legs. The perceived size of specimens is oftentimes exaggerated, due to the tarantula’s abundant hair. This hair, which covers the entire body of the tarantula, serves as a defense mechanism against predators. Although frightening in appearance, tarantulas are only aggressive when provoked.

Habitat

There are over 50 species of tarantulas native to the southwestern and central portions of the United States, including several undescribed species (unknown to science). They can be found in all or parts of (going in a circle): California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. Their eastern border is the Mississippi River and further to the north, the Missouri River.

Tarantulas live in dry, well-drained soils in open areas throughout the desert and grassland areas. All North American tarantulas are ground-dwellers although some other species live in trees, cliffs, caves, or in crops like bananas and pineapples.

Venom Toxicity

Though all tarantulas are venomous and some bites cause serious discomfort that might persist for several days, so far there is no record of a bite causing a human fatality. In general, the effects of the bites of all kinds of tarantula are not well known.

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