Common North American Spiders

Spiders
Kingdom Animalia / Phylum Arthropoda / Subphylum Chelicerata / Class Arachnida
Spiders (Order Araneae) are the largest group in the class Arachnida. Spiders are among the most feared organisms on earth.
Live spiders, spider eggs, ticks and other arachnids photographed in the wild.
-- Spiders Table of Contents --

Male Lynx Spider, Oxyopes sp.

Orb weaver
Argiope aurantia

Orb weaver
Argiope trifasciata

Nephila clavipes
Golden Silk Orbweaver

Ghastly Orb Weaver
Tetragnatha spp.

Orb weavers (Family Araneidae) comprise a huge family of spiders, of which there are several hundred species in North America. These spiders vary greatly in color, shape and size, measuring between 2 - 30mm (1/16 -- 1 1/4") long. They have eight eyes arranged in two horizontal rows of four eyes each. The males are generally much smaller than the females and commonly lack the showy coloring of their fairer sex. They often spin their own smaller orb web near an outlying portion of the female's, and I've noticed most males give the females wide berth. Indeed, I rarely see male orb weavers, they are so reclusive.

Most orb weavers spin spiraling webs on support lines that radiate outward from the center; the plane of the web may be vertical or horizontal or somewhere in between. Many of this family replace the entire web daily, spinning a new web in the early evening (this usually takes about an hour) and deconstructing the web each morning in a ritual almost as complex as the spinning process: they gather the silk into a ball and eat it for reprocessing. Our page on the Neoscona orb weaver has a series of pictures showing this process. I find them doing it only in the early morning, usually when the rising sun first illuminates the top of the web.

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There are more than 35,000 described species worldwide, including about 3,000 in North America. Spiders are considered beneficial, helping keep the insect population in check. The vast majority of spiders do not bite people, but there are some spiders that are dangerous. Go here for more resources and information on those spiders.

Orb Weaver
Neoscona arabesca

Brown Widow Spider
Latrodectus geometricus

Cat-faced Spider
Araneus gemmoides

Black Widow
Latrodectus mactans

Wolf Spider	Nursery Web Spider in the family Pisauridae, with egg sac
Neoscona Orbweaver Catches Cicada	Long-Jawed Orb Weavers

Jumping spiders (Family Salticidae) get their name from the sometimes spectacular leaps they make when pouncing on prey or simply hopping about in the foliage. They are very small to medium sized spiders 3-15mm (1/8 -- 5/8") long. Their eight eyes are arranged in 3 rows - the first row near the midline contains the largest pair, which faces forward in the manner of predatory animals requiring binocular vision, and a second, smaller pair outboard of those, also facing forward and slightly upward. The second row of eyes is very mach smaller and facing upwards and only slightly forward. Our page on the bold jumping spider, Phidippus audax has many pictures showing the jumping spider's eye arrangement. The jumping spiders have the most acute eyesight of all spiders. Salticids do not build webs to snare prey, they only spin small silken retreat webs under leaves, bark or twigs. Our page on the Phidippus princeps species shows a spider in one of these webs. When hunting, jumpers always trail a silken strand from their spinnerets. If they are disturbed, they will rapidly descend on this lifeline to the ground and out of sight, or if they miss their jump, they can climb the thread back to their previous perch. These little guys are very adept at hiding, and if they do not want you to see them, you won't. They always watch me very carefully when I'm photographing them, and almost always face me, which accounts for all the similar poses you'll see on our pages. You can find an extensive write-up on the family salticidae at The Tree of Life Website
Bold Jumping spider Phidippus audax	Coy Jumping Spider Phidippus princeps	Magnolia Green Jumper Lyssomanes viridis	Jumping Spider Phidippus otiosus
Phidippus clarus	Phidippus princeps	Hentzia palmarum	Thiodina sylvana
All thumbnails pages	Zebra Jumper Salticus scenicus	Dimorphic Jumper Maevia inclemens	Jumping Spider Phidippus mystaceus

Female funnel web weaver	Funnel web weaver	Spider at funnel retreat	Agelenopsis on sheet web
Funnel web weavers (Family Agelenidae) are small to medium sized spiders often found in grassy fields, low shrubbery, or living among leaf litter in forests. They spin sheet webs of nonsticky silk with a characteristic funnel extending off to one side. The funnel is where the spider hides while awaiting prey. There is a 3-dimensional barrier web spun above the sheet web, and when a prey item falls through onto the sheet web, the spider quickly runs out and bites its victim, then drags it back to the funnel to feed. These sheet webs are nearly invisible unless covered with dewdrops on a cool morning, and the spider can move very quickly over the surface. It almost looks as if the spider is walking on air. There are over 400 North American species. Spiders in the most common genus, Agelenopsis, are commonly called "grass spiders," after their habit of building their combination sheet-and-funnel webs in grass and low shrubs.
Wolf Spider in the family Lycosidae. Wolf spiders are active hunters that do not rely on webs to trap prey.
Wolf Spider - Shizocosa sp.	Camouflage invisibility	Wolf spider female	Wolf spider momma
Wolf Spiders (Family Lycosidae) are ground hunters. Except for one genus, they spin no webs at all; some dig burrows in the ground or under rocks, many have no retreat at all. They have eight eyes of unequal size arranged in three rows, the first row having four eyes. The long thin legs have three microscopic claws at their tips. The female spins a large spherical egg sac, attaches it to her spinnerets and drags it around until the eggs hatch. The hatchlings then climb onto her back and stay there until they are able to fend for themselves. I accidentally touched the momma spider in the pictures above - the dozens of spiderlings instantly scattered and were all gone within seconds. These spider pictures are all that remain...

Nursery web spider

Nursery web spider eyes detail

Nursery Web Spider with egg sac

Fishing Spider

Nursery Web Spiders (Family Pisauridae) superficially resemble wolf spiders. Most spiders in this family (which includes the so-called fishing spiders) have their eyes arranged in two rows, with the front row in a straight line of four, the second row curved in a u-shape. These spiders do not build webs to catch prey, but use silk to construct a special nest or nursery web. The female carries a spherical egg sac around until the eggs are ready to hatch, then constructs a web and places the egg sac inside. She then stands guard nearby until the spiderlings have all grown and dispersed. Some of the largest spiders in this family, the fishing spiders, run over the surface of ponds and streams, and sometimes even go underwater. They may capture tadpoles and small fishes near the surface, but mostly prey on insects.

Cobweb spiders (Family Theridiidae) are also called comb-footed spiders, after the inconspicuous comb like bristles on the hind tarsi of many species. These spiders spin irregular webs (cobwebs) and use their combs to fling silk over any prey that gets caught in the web. The thus swathed victim is then hauled to a rest site, injected with venom, and later eaten. There are more than 200 North American species in this family, including the black widow spider, Latrodectus mactans.

Steatoda triangulosa

Theridion sp.

Crab Spider
Misumenoides sp

Crab spider
Misumenoides formocipes

Crab Spider
Xysticus sp.

Crab Spider
Synema sp

Crab spiders (family Thomisidae) hold their legs outstretched to the sides, in the manner of their crustacean namesake, and can move forwards, sideways, or backward. They have short, broad bodies and 8 small eyes sometimes located on raised bumps. The second pair of legs is often much heavier and longer than the third and fourth pairs. Crab spiders do not build any sort of web, they prowl the ground and climb flowers and plants in search of prey. Many are masters of camouflage and simply await their prey on flowers, much like ambush bugs.

Female Cobweb Spider (Family Theridiidae) - Enoplognatha ovata

The brown recluse spider is a venomous spider, Loxosceles reclusa, of the family Sicariidae (formerly of the family Loxoscelidae). It is usually between ¼ and ¾ inch (6-20mm) but may grow larger. It is brown and usually has markings on the dorsal side of its cephalothorax, with a black line coming from it that looks like a violin with the neck of the violin pointing to the rear of the spider, resulting in the nickname "fiddleback spider" or "violin spider".

Coloring varies from light tan to brown and the violin marking may not be visible. Since the "violin pattern" is not diagnostic, and other spiders may have similar marking (i.e. cellar spiders (Pholcidae family) and pirate spiders (Mimetidae family)), for purposes of identification it is far more important to examine the eyes.

	Class: Arachnida / Subclass: Acari / Superorder: Acariformes / Order: Actinedida Red Velvet Mite - Trombidium sp. Velvet mites are critically important to soil replenishment and sanitation, preying on tiny insects that feed on bacteria and fungi that live in the soil and whose remains constitute a large volume of same.
	Family Gnaphosidae (Ground Spiders) Eastern Parson Spider - Herpyllus ecclesiasticus Completely harmless, but big and black and hairy, this common indoor spider can startle the best of us.
Green Lynx Spider	Lynx Spiders Family Oxyopidae Recognized by their distinctive eye arrangement - 6 eyes form a hexagon with 2 smaller eyes facing forward. Their legs have prominent spines. Lynx spiders do not build webs. Most are found on shrubs and low foliage, where they hunt for prey.
	Cellar / Vibrating Spiders Family Pholcidae Live in dark, undisturbed places like basements and attics. They are small-bodied spiders with very long, thin legs. They are often called daddy long legs, in confusion with the harvestmen (Order Opiliones) and the crane flies (Tipulidae).
	Black Widow Spiders Family Theridiidae are members of the cobweb spider family, also known as comb-footed spiders. Of all spiders, this is the most feared. The female's venom is especially poisonous to people, but like most spiders, they bite humans only in defense.
	Running Crab Spiders Family Philodromidae These are very common spiders that frequently live in human dwellings - they are the most likely culprits when you find cobwebs in the corners of your ceilings. Actual pictures of harmless spiders that might be living in your house right now.
	Tarantulas - Family Theraphosidae Tarantula spiders are perhaps some of the most recognized (and feared and loathed) Arachnids on the planet. They do enjoy, however, a large group of aficionados as pet-keepers, breeders and promoters. Unlike other exotic pets such as boa constrictors or chimpanzees, tarantulas do not squeeze to death or maul their owners.