Hobbies And Interests
Instructions
Make sure you are looking at the spider's head and not its abdomen. The black widow spider is a venomous spider known for its black body and red markings. Because this spider has a very small head relative to its body, it's possible to mistake its body for its head. A black widows has a red hourglass on its abdomen and might have sporadic red dots on its body. They rarely have red markings on their heads. They prefer quiet, dry locations and are most likely to be found at the bottom of rubbish piles or in quiet basements.
Look for a web. Large, spiral-shaped webs built in direct sunlight might belong to orb weavers. The marbled orb weaver has a yellow abdomen with black marbleized markings and a red head. The legs of this spider are typically striped or spotted and the abdomen is bubble-shaped. The golden silk orb weaver typically has an orange or yellow abdomen with a red or black head and black legs with red stripes.
Small, chaotic-looking webs built in dark locations could belong to black widows. Hunting spiders, like wolf spiders and fishing spiders, don't build webs. If you see a spider scurrying around with no web in sight, it might be one of these spiders. Wolf spiders are typically drab in color with two faint stripes along the sides of their abdomen, and some species have red heads. Nursery web spiders look very similar to wolf spiders but are found near bodies of water and might even walk across the top of water.
Look at the color patterns on the spider's abdomen. A spider with a translucent yellow abdomen and red head could be a male yellow sac spider. These nocturnal spiders frequently live in fields and prefer vegetation that is low to the ground. Though a bite from this spider is not life-threatening, it can be extremely painful. Because yellow sac spiders frequently eat dead and diseased spiders and insects, their bites occasionally result in infection for people.
Spiders with shiny abdomens that have hornlike protrusions might be crab spiders. These small, oddly-shaped spiders live in gardens. A spider with a rounded abdomen and large, visible eyes might be a jumping spider. Small spiders with very shiny yellow or brown abdomens could be woodlouse spiders.
Consider the location of the spider. While black widows prefer abandoned areas and sac spiders and orb weavers live in gardens and fields, the woodlouse spider lives exclusively near woodpiles populated by wood lice. Wolf spiders are frequently found in homes, especially near windows.
Inspect the spider's head for markings and shape. Woodlouse spiders have solid-colored red or rusty brown heads. The heads of orb weavers vary greatly in coloration and marking, but are always substantially smaller than their bodies. Wolf spiders have heads that are visible from a short distance and their jaws might even be visible. The heads of jumping spiders are not well-differentiated from their bodies and a novice observer might believe the eyes are simply attached to the spider's abdomen.