Hobbies And Interests
Hunting Spiders
Despite their fearsome appearance and aggressive name, hunting spiders don't commonly harm humans. Rather, their name derives from their habit of aggressive pursuing their prey, rather than waiting for it to get caught in a web. Their steady diet of pest insects proves beneficial to gardeners and those who spend a good deal of time outside. Common hunting spiders in Wyoming include jumping spiders, wolf spiders, nursery web spiders and sac spiders, which hunt for flies around light fixtures.
Venemous Spiders
Three types of extremely venomous spiders live in Wyoming: the black widow, the brown recluse and the hobo spiders. Black widows such as Latrodectus mactans and Latrodectus various exhibit bright red dots on their otherwise all-black abdomens. These spiders commonly hang upside-down from web threads. Their venom attacks the nervous system.
Brown recluse and hobo spiders possess necrotic venom. Rather than attacking the nervous systems, their bites corrode the skin, leaving oozing, open pustules and other gaping wounds on the surface of the skin. Hobo spider bites may induce nausea and headaches.
Common Spiders
The designation "common spider" describes a plain spider, or one without exceptional venom or abnormal habits. Common spiders found in Wyoming include comb-footed and cobweb spiders; orb weavers; the common house spider, which belongs to the same genus as the hobo spider; funnel web spiders; grass spiders; and daddy long legs, or cellar spiders.
Other Spiders
Other types of spiders commonly found in Wyoming include ground spiders and crab spiders. Crab spiders are so called because they hold their legs in a manner similar to crabs. Wyoming crab spiders bear yellow, white and red markings and commonly live on and around flowers. Ground spiders have elongated, flattened bodies and commonly live in dank, dark, secluded places like boxes, woodpiles and around landscape rocks.