 | Spiders of North America Live spiders, spider eggs, ticks, mites, and other arachnids photographed in the wild in various United States. We hope our large spider pictures will aid in your common spider identification. Insects & Spiders | Spiders Index | Jumping Spiders | Beetles Index | Butterfly Pictures |
| Orb Weavers - Family Araneidae is a huge family of spiders, with 3500 species worldwide, 180 of which call North America home. These spiders vary greatly in color, shape and size, measuring between 2 - 30mm (1/16 -- 1 1/4") long. 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. 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 orb webs are built on human structures, parallel to walls. Are Orb Weaver spiders dangerous? Short answer: No. Spider Bite Symptoms: Mild burning or itching, no worse than a bee sting. You'd have to work pretty hard to be bitten by one of these spiders. An orb-weaver spider bites only defensively. |
Family Salticidae - Jumping Spiders are active hunters that capture prey by stalking and pouncing, exactly like larger mammalian predators. Salticids range from 3-15 mm (1/8 -- 5/8") long. They have the most acute eyesight of all spiders, and can jump more than fifty times their own body length.
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Many spiders stalk and capture prey instead of using webs to trap their food.
| Wolf Spiders - Family Lycosidae are ground hunters. Except for one genus, lycosids spin no webs at all; some dig burrows in the ground or under rocks, many have no permanent home. The long thin legs have three tarsal claws - and they can really run fast - it's how they make a living - chasing down prey, like their namesakes. 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. Wolf spiders are famous for entering a house through an open door or via a garage where they can slip under the door. I hate it when that happens, because these suckers can be pretty big and are very adept at getting out of sight quickly. They are completely harmless and help keep things under control, insect-population-wise. |
Nursery Web and Fishing Spiders (Family Pisauridae) superficially resemble wolf spiders. Most spiders in this family 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. |  |
 Funnel web weaver |  Barn Funnel Weaver |
Funnel web weavers (Family Agelenidae) are 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. Spiders in the most common genus, Agelenopsis, are commonly called "grass spiders," after their habitat. 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. |
 | Crab spiders (Family Thomisidae) hold their legs outstretched to the sides, in the manner of their crustacean namesake. 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. Their prey includes butterflies, flies, beetles, bugs - just about any insect that blunders within range. Like all spiders, crab spiders go through a simple metamorphosis. Young crab spiders hatch from eggs and look like tiny adults. They shed their skin as they grow. Most live for less than 1 year. Females produce hundreds of eggs in the fall, and the offspring hatch in the spring. |
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, which includes the black widow spider. |  Female Cobweb Spider - Enoplognatha ovata |
 Brown Recluse Spider - Loxosceles reclusa | The brown recluse spider is one of the very few spiders that present real danger for humans and their pets. When this spider bites, it injects a hemotoxic venom, but most bites are minor with no necrosis (tissue death). Brown recluse spider bite symptoms are generally mild swelling and tenderness at the site, ranging up to severe dermonecrotic lesions. The black widow spider bites way more people in the U.S. |
Class: Arachnida / Subclass: Acari / Superorder: Acariformes / Order: Actinedida / Red Velvet Mite - Trombidium sp. Family Gnaphosidae (Ground Spiders) -Eastern Parson Spider - Herpyllus ecclesiasticus Cellar / Vibrating Spiders - Family Pholcidae Mesh-Web Weavers - Family Dictynidae Running Crab Spiders - Family Philodromidae |
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Photos © Jim Kalisch, University of Nebraska Department of Entomology used with permission
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