Hobbies And Interests
Orb Weavers
Orb weavers build wheel-like, round, flat classic webs outdoors close to buildings. These spiders range from 1/8 in. to 1 in. long and have large, distended-looking abdomens, many of which are quite colorful. The yellow and black garden spider or argiope, one of the largest orb weavers, is usually around 1 in. long. Another large family member, the brown barn spider, can get to be about 4/5 in. long.
Funnel Web Weavers
Funnel web weavers or hobo spiders, usually brown or gray with striped heads, possess large spinnerets which aid in producing huge sheet webs with funnels in the center where the spider can retreat. A common example of the funnel web weaver is the grass spider, which spins webs in low shrubs and window wells, around foundations and steps, as well as on the ground.
Cobweb
Cobweb or jumping spiders also called comb-footed spiders live indoors as well as outside. These brown to gray, medium-size spiders range from about 1/8 to 3/8 in. long and build their irregular webs in quiet spaces such as basements. The cobweb spider found in the house is the 1/4 in. house spider readily identified by its gray to brown abdomen, which exhibits chevron-like markings.
Some well-known members of the cobweb weavers include the six species of venomous widow spiders that reside in warmer regions of the world. According to Exploring the DesertUSA website the female black widow spider is the most venomous spider in North America. The black female widow spider, found in all four deserts of southwestern United States, injects a small dose of venom into its victim when it bites. Although the human mortality rate is less than 1 percent, the bite is extremely painful and victims need to seek medical help immediately. This black widow spider, mostly black but sometimes brown, sports a reddish hourglass on her abdomen.
Crab
In Kentucky, crab spiders, so named for their ability to easily walk backwards, forwards and sideways, do not have silk webs in which to capture their prey. Instead they sit motionless on flowers and trees then ambush bees, flies and similar quarry. Those species of crab spiders that live on flowers have bright coloration with can be changed to match the flower. Other crab spider species are less subdued and take on black, brown and gray colors, which enable them to hunt on the ground and on tree bark.
Sac
The sac, also known as the two-clawed hunting spider, has the reputation of being suspected as the spider that causes the most indoor spider bites in Ohio, according to Dr. Susan C. Jones of the Ohio State University Extension. These attacks usually happen at night when the spider is provoked such as being trapped against the skin. The venom in the sac spider bite, as well as in the recluse spider bite, causes necrosis or tissue to die at the site. These spiders range from light to yellow-green sometimes having orange-brown stripes on the abdomen. One species is reddish to brown with a light gray to pale yellow abdomen.
Recluse
The 10 species of native brown recluse spiders found in North America can be accurately identified by their three pairs of eyes that form a semicircle on the head. Although they display the famous violin-looking feature on their cephalothoraxes, other types of spiders such as some funnel weaver spiders have this feature also. Bites from recluse spiders create deep, painful wounds that heal slowly.