Overview of Spider Species in the United States
Micrathena gracilis, commonly known as spined micrathena, is one of the spiny orb weaver spiders. The spiny body serves to protect them from birds, lizards or other predators. The hard spines should hurt predators when dealing a bite. These easy to recognize, unobtrusive forest denizens are abundant throughout the Eastern United States and especially common […]
The spider species Micrathena mitrata, commonly called white micrathena, is an orb weaving spider. They have a large bulbous white abdomen with spines and black markings and are found throughout the Eastern United States as well as Central and South America. Description The white micrathena has a brown and small cephalothorax (head) and legs and […]
The arrow-head spider, Verrucosa arenata, is an orb-weaver spider found throughout the United States. Its common name arrowhead spider or triangle orb weaver comes from the triangle-shaped yellow or white coloration on the spiders’ abdomen. Arrow-Shaped Orbweaver Description Verrucosa arenata are generally easy to distinguish from similar orb weavers because of their special color pattern and […]
The arrow-shaped orb weaver, Micrathena sagittata, is a strange-looking, arrow-shaped spider that is commonly found in gardens of the Eastern United States. The spider’s abdomen is large and yellow with two large red and black spines on its back. Its specific name “sagittata” is Latin for “arrowed” and it refers to the shape of the abdomen. Arrow-Shaped […]
Metaltella simoni is a spider species that is commonly often referred to as hacklemesh weaver. This may lead to confusion with some spiders of the genus Amaurobius which are also referred to as hacklemesh weavers and often have a similar appearance. Therefore, we will restrict to the usage of the specific name in this guide which […]
Scotophaeus blackwalli, the mouse spider is a ground spider that is common in Central and Northern Europe and the Western United States. The spider is not of medical significance and should not be confused with the venomous mouse spiders found in Australia of the genus Missulena. Description of the mouse spider The mouse spider is […]
The gray house spider, Badmuna longinqua, is a medium sized black and gray spider originally native to Australia. It has been introduced to New Zealand, South America, Europe, South Africa and the United States. Despite the reputation of Australian spiders, the grey house spider is harmless for humans and larger pets. Due to its secretive […]
Aphonopelma eutylenum, the California ebony tarantula is a large spider that can be found in California and its surrounding states including Northwestern Mexico. Mostly, they are found in the grassy areas around the Eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area down to San Diego. As many other spiders, the California ebony tarantula is a […]
The Steatoda grossa, commonly called the false black widow spider or cupboard spider can be found throughout the United States. It is from the family of Theridiidae, the same as the black widow spiders. They build similar webs and have a similar body shape and color as black widows. Hence, their common name false widow. […]
Latrodectus mactans, the Southern black widow is a close relative of the Northern black widow and the Western black widow. The female of all three species is mostly black with a distinctive red hourglass pattern on the underside of its abdomen. They can inject a potent venom with their bite with potential severe medical effects. […]
