Hobbies And Interests
Orb Weavers
Orb Weavers build large, wheel-shaped webs in sunny locations like gardens and porches. Most are large spiders with bright colors. These features may spark fears that orb weavers are venomous, but the spiders are harmless and help to eliminate garden pests. The black and yellow argiope is among the most common orb weaver spider seen on Cumberland Island. It has a large, rounded black body with yellow or orange spots.
Wolf Spiders
Wolf Spiders actively hunt for their prey instead of building webs. They typically have long legs and long, narrow bodies. Though they are typically drab colors like gray and brown, some Cumberland Island Wolf Spiders have bright orange or yellow markings on their legs. These spiders often reside in basements and other areas with limited foot traffic. Their bites are painful, but they are not venomous.
Trapdoor Spiders
Trapdoor Spiders are named for the shape of their webs, which have entries that resemble doors. These spiders may be confused with tarantulas due to their large size and hairy legs. They live in moist areas and along banks, making Cumberland an ideal habitat. Their bites may result in localized infection and swelling, but they are not poisonous.
Fishing Spiders
Fishing Spiders are occasionally referred to as nursery web spiders because they build webs specifically for the purpose of laying eggs. These spiders hunt for small fish and aquatic insects and can walk on the surface of water. Fishing Spiders have long, drab-colored bodies with vertical stripes along the sides of the abdomen. They can be found in Cumberland's marshes.
Brown Recluse
Brown Recluses are venomous spiders that can deliver painful bites. Though their bites are rarely lethal, they can cause massive infection, systemic illness and tissue death. These spiders are small and brown with violin-shaped markings on their abdomens. They live in dark, untouched areas like basements and woodpiles.
Black Widow
The famed Black Widow is a resident of Cumberland Island. These spiders have rounded black bodies with faint red dots on the top of their abdomens and an hourglass shape on the abdomen's underside. They most frequently take up residence in moist, abandoned areas. They may live in piles of debris near marshes. A bite from a black widow is painful and can result in severe illness. However, an effective anti-venom is available. Less than 1 percent of people bitten by black widows die as a result of the bite.