Hobbies And Interests
Garden Spider
The "Argiope aurantia," better known as the black and yellow garden spider, is a common resident of Georgia and easy to identify due to its distinctive markings and web pattern. These spiders have elongated yellow bodies with black or dark brown markings and long legs with yellow, orange and black stripes. The front four legs face forward and the rear four face directly backward when the spider is at rest in the web. The web itself features a zigzag stitch mark near its center.
Wolf Spider
Wolf spiders are common in Georgia. The wolf spider tends to stay on the ground and is referred to as a "hunter spider" because it does not use a web to snare prey. These spiders generally have tan and brown markings and live in natural crevices most of time. Wolf spiders have eight eyes with a row of four small lower eyes, two large middle eyes and two medium-sized upper eyes. The females carry their young with them in a spider silk sac.
Brown Recluse Spider
The brown recluse, a spider with a dangerous bite, is also called the fiddleback spider due to the violin-shaped mark on its back, though sometimes the mark is not visible. They have light to dark brown bodies about 3/8th of an inch long with needle-like legs. A brown recluse bite can cause necrosis in human flesh that can become disfiguring without quick treatment. These spiders build irregular webs and tend to feed at night.
Cellar Spider
Cellar spiders are common, wispy, light brown creatures that create very thin webs. They prefer dark spaces like basements and corners in homes and have become accustomed to living with humans, though they tend to stay in out-of-the-way places. They eat insects, are not aggressive, and at worst, present a nuisance for Georgian homeowners.
Black Widow Spider
The black widow has a black, nearly spherical body with a red hourglass marking on the underside of the thorax; it may also feature other red dots or marks. Classed as a "tangleweb" spider, the black widow has a potentially deadly bite, though resulting deaths are rare. The females are twice the size of the males, reaching as much as 1 1/2 inches including legs.
Trapdoor Spider
The trapdoor spider is indigenous to Georgia and similar to the much larger tarantula. The female reaches a little over an inch in length and the male grows to about 3/4 inches. Rather than spinning a web to catch prey, the spider digs a tunnel in loose earth and lines it with a mixture of silk and saliva to strengthen it. It creates a "trap door" for its burrow either as a tight fitting "cork" or a "wafer"-shaped cover. When the spider senses movement around the hole, it will quickly open the door and grab a meal.
Lynx Spider
The lynx spider has an elongated greenish body and yellowish legs with small black spots. It is a hunting spider that prefers low-lying ground cover at the edge of woodlands, forests and gardens. The spider will leap on its prey, like a lynx, and spin it up into a ball of silk. It also creates egg sacs with its silk that can contain up to 600 orange eggs. The lynx spider's bite can be painful to humans and cause significant swelling, but will typically resolve on its own over the course of several days.