Overview of Spider Species in the United States
The bowl and doily spiders, known as Frontinella pyramitela, are a small species of spiders that belong to the family of Linyphiidae. The common name of these spiders comes from its peculiar webs that have a bowl shape with a sheet-web or blanket (doily) beneath it. Like other sheet web weavers, Frotinella pyramitela spiders can […]
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 […]
As its name suggests, the giant house spider, Eratigena atrica, is one of the largest spiders found in Europe and the United States. The species is originally from Europe and was introduced to the Western United States over 100 years ago. It has now developed large populations in the Pacific Northwest and in the Great […]
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 […]
