Hobbies And Interests
Black Widow
The northern black widow is the only poisonous spider found in Michigan. Female black widows have a red hourglass shape on the underside and are approximately 1 ½ inches long. Males do not have the red hourglass but can sometimes have red and yellow posts on the back. Black widows can hide in firewood, meter boxes or under eaves on the outside of your house. Black widows are not usually aggressive, but their bites are painful and can cause illness. If you are bitten by one, you should immediately seek medical treatment.
Wolf Spider
The wolf spider is a night-hunting spider common in Michigan. They hide during the daytime in undisturbed areas such as under rocks and logs. Male wolf spiders die after mating in the fall, while the females lay eggs in the spring. They can grow up to an inch long and can bite humans, but they are not known to cause illness. Wolf spiders can be brown, black, tan and yellow.
Running Spider
The running spider, also known as the sac spider, has a red abdomen and lighter-colored legs that appear to be nearly white. These spiders move very quickly and prefer to hunt their prey rather than create webs. Running spiders are typically only .11 to .39 inches long.
Orb Weaver
The orb weaver has a round abdomen that can be orange, brown or black. The males are as small as a quarter-inch long, while the females can exceed three-quarters of an inch. Orb weavers are excellent web spinners, catching their prey in the evenings. Each night they spin a new web with a signal line running directly to them to alert them of new prey. If the orb weaver makes a web near your home, it will greatly reduce the number of mosquitoes.
Black-and-Yellow Garden Spider
The black-and-yellow garden spider, as the name suggests, can be identified by the unique black-and-yellow pattern on its abdomen. It lives in wooded areas and gardens of Michigan, creating webs with zigzag patterns. Males grow to about .19 inches to .31 inches long, while females can grow as large as .74 inches to 1.1 inches long. The black-and-yellow garden spider is also called the common garden spider.
Tuft-legged Orb Weaver
The tuft-legged orb weaver is slightly different from the other orb weaver species. It is a small spider, growing to .19 inches to .27 inches in length. This spider usually has a brown or black body, although some have white spots. They create a very fine web in the shrubs, tall grasses and wooded areas of Michigan.
North American Jumping Spider
North American jumping spiders appear black, brown, gray or white and grow to only .03 to .15 inches in length. Though they have the ability to weave webs, they prefer to catch their prey through ambush. As the name suggests, they have great jumping abilities that tend to scare most people. Despite their behavior, they are relatively harmless to humans.
Triangulate Cobweb Spider
This spider has distinct, alternating black-and-brown patterns with a triangle shape on its abdomen. They are commonly found dwelling in the dark corners of Michigan households. The triangulate cobweb spider has very poor eyesight and depends on webs to catch prey. A relatively small spider at .11 inches to .23 inches long, this arachnid preys on other insects found in the home as well as other spiders.
Spined Micrathena Spider
The adult spined micrathena spider grows to about .27 inches to .39 inches long. They can be a mix of brown, black, yellow and white, and they can easily blend into the dense wooded areas of Michigan. Only the females have ridges underneath the abdomen, which act as a repellent for predators. Males do not have this ridge and can appear either more white or more black instead of the blended mix of colors that the females display.