Texas Brown Tarantula

Posted on December 1, 2023 by tspuckler

While herping in a glades habitat in Missouri, we came across this awesome arachnid. It is one of the most common species of tarantula living in the southern United States.

The Texas Brown Tarantula is a stocky, hairy species and is Missouri’s largest spider. The body and legs are uniformly dark chocolate brown, with reddish hairs on its back.

This species is commonly found in grasslands, in underground burrows, or using logs, stones, or other small animals’ abandoned dens as their homes and feeding grounds.

Like many hunting spiders, tarantulas are nocturnal, pursuing insects such as crickets and beetles. Like other spiders, they have fangs that deliver a venom that both subdues their prey and helps digest it. They are not dangerous to humans and tarantulas prefer areas seldom frequented by people.

Texas Brown Tarantulas use their spinnerets to line the entrance of their shelters with webbing to detect passing prey. In this photo the spider’s shed exoskelton is outside of its burrow entrance.

Though it is not aggressive, like any frightened animal, it will defend itself if it feels threatened. Running for cover is its usual response after being spotted.

This is a relatively long-lived creature. Most males do not live for more than a year, however some females can survive up to three decades. This Texas Brown Tarantula was the first adult example I’ve ever encountered and was a welcome find on our herping trip.

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Banded Garden Spider

Posted on August 25, 2023 by tspuckler

This is a neat spider that I have not only found while out and about, but also have occasionally seen in my backyard. For me, Banded Garden Spiders are not as commonly encountered in Ohio as Black and Yellow Garden Spiders, although they inhabit similar locations.

This orb weaver produces a large, concentrically patterned web in areas of tall grass and shrubby vegetation. The web is strong and capable of holding fairly big and active insects like wasps and grasshoppers. The webs of these arachnids have both sticky and non-sticky silk. Non-sticky silk is used for the threads which radiate from a central point like spokes on a bicycle wheel. The spiral threads are composed of the sticky silk that captures the spider’s prey.

A behavioral study of web construction determined that the majority of Banded Garden Spiders orient their webs along an east-to-west axis. The spiders hang head-down in the center of the web with their abdomens facing south. Since the underside of the spider is mostly black, the position of both web and spider is believed to maximize solar radiation for heat gain, which is an important consideration for spiders that are active late in the year.

At about an inch in length (not including its legs), the Banded Garden Spider can usually be observed resting in the center of the web, although it may drop readily if disturbed. Its body’s background color is a pale yellow with numerous lateral bands of black. The legs are also a pale yellow with darker spots or bands.

Banded Garden Spiders use a “wrap-and-bite” strategy to quickly dispatch their prey. When a victim becomes entangled in their web, the spider rushes over and wraps the prey in a thick shroud of dense webbing. They it bites through the victim’s exoskeleton. The bite delivers neurotoxic venom that halts its prey’s struggling and necrotoxins that dissolve its food’s insides.

Banded Garden Spider adults can be found from mid- to late Summer through the first freeze. Their egg sacs are deposited in early Fall and consist of several hundred eggs. The immature spiders emerge the following Spring.

The Banded Garden Spider is a colorful and fascinating creature that I look forward to seeing every Summer.

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Speckled Wolf Spider

Posted on December 16, 2022 by tspuckler

While exploring a glades habitat in the “Show Me State,” I came across this awesome creature.

The Speckled Wolf Spider is one of Missouri’s more common species of Wolf Spiders. Key identifiers for it include large size, overall darkish color, banded legs and a narrow pale yellowish line running between the eyes.

Like other members of their family, these are athletic spiders don’t spin webs to catch their insect prey; instead, Wolf Spiders run down their prey like a wolf.

Female Wolf Spiders have remarkable maternal instincts and are often seen carrying around their egg cases. After the young spiders hatch, they ride around on their mother’s back until they are able to be independent.

Wolf Spiders live in a wide range of habitats, basically anywhere where there are insects to eat. They seem to be most common in open habitats like grasslands, and are often found in farm fields and meadows.

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Nursery Web Spider

Posted on September 9, 2022 by tspuckler

This is a fascinating creature that sometimes I’ve been lucky enough to find in my own backyard, as well as when on hikes along the Ohio & Erie Canal towpath.

It is similar to a Wolf Spider in appearance and has usually has brown and black stripes running the length of its body.

Four species of Nursery Web spiders in occur in North America north of Mexico. They are streamlined, with long legs and slender bodies, which help them blend in with plant stalks.

The Nursery Web Spider is an active hunter and does not spin a web to catch food, instead it employs a quick sprint to capture flies and other insects.

The female carries her large, round egg-sac in her fangs. When the young are about to hatch, she builds a silk sheet among the vegetation to act as a tent.

This “tent” shelters the offspring until they are old enough to leave on their own. This spider only uses its silk for purposes of creating a protective tent for its young.

Their habitat is grasslands, woodland borders, fencerows, roadsides, parks and gardens. They are closely related to Fishing Spiders and can run across the water’s surface if necessary.

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Six-spotted Fishing Spider

Posted on September 3, 2021 by tspuckler

This is a cool spider that I often find while exploring the edges of ponds and canals. It is easy to identify because of their distinctive pattern of two white stripes on their front section and 12 white spots on their abdomen. They are named for the six black spots on their underside.

This species is active in the daytime and waits patiently for hours at a time for prey to come by. Not only can it walk on water, but it can also dive several inches underwater to catch food, which consists mostly of insects, small fish and tadpoles.

These creatures can walk on water using the properties of surface tension and by spreading their body weight equally where each of their eight legs contacts the water. This arachnid can stay submerged under the water for 30 minutes or more. The hairs on their bodies trap air and provide a protective “diving suit.”

Spider legs have delicate hairs called trichobothria that respond to vibrations carried through either the air or the water. These hairs provide information to the spider about the presence and location of prey. Six-spotted Fishing Spiders also have excellent eyesight.

This species belongs to a group known as Nursery Web Spiders. A female will lay her eggs and wrap them in a silken sac. She will carry this sac around in her jaws for protection until the eggs are ready to hatch. Then she builds a nursery tent with silk which she guards to protect her spiderlings against attackers.

The Six-spotted Fishing Spider is a truly fascinating creature that often goes about its life unnoticed.

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Cardinal Jumper

Posted on November 27, 2020 by tspuckler

While visiting a sandhill prairie in Missouri last month, I came across this very cool creature. Its bright colors mimic those of a “velvet ant” – a type of wasp that possess a very painful sting.

The Cardinal Jumper is a Jumping Spider and part of a family that contains over 6,000 described species; it is the largest family of spiders and makes up about 13% of all known spiders.

Jumping Spiders do not make webs to catch food, but use silk for building retreats, protecting eggs and creating safety lines while moving about. Having excellent eyesight needed for active hunting, Cardinal Jumpers tend to notice everything around them, including both large and small beings.

This species is most often found in areas with tall grass and weeds and it frequently climbs up on the grass stems. Its main food is insects, including grasshoppers and katydids several times bigger than they are.

Cardinal Jumpers have a well-developed internal hydraulic system extends their limbs by altering the pressure of the body fluid within them. This enables them to jump without having large muscular legs like a grasshopper. Most Jumping Spiders can jump several times the length of their bodies.

Interestingly, it seems to be most commonly sighted during the month of October, which makes its Halloween colors quite appropriate.

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White-banded Fishing Spider

Posted on September 4, 2020 by tspuckler

While doing yard work I came across this awesome arachnid. This is a sit-and-wait predator with excellent camouflage. It was the first time I’ve ever encountered this species.

The White-banded Fishing Spider belongs to the Nursery Web Spider Group and is indigenous to the United States. Females, which are somewhat larger than males, can reach nearly an inch in body length.

Though their color is variable, it is true to its name, with a white band in the area below its eyes, around the jaws and more white bands on its legs and body.

White-banded Fishing Spiders get their “fishing spider” name because most live near water (I have a creek in my backyard) and have been reported to catch small fish and aquatic insects from the water as they walk on its surface. Instead of building a web to catch its food, this creature goes out and hunts it down.

Like other Nursery Web Spiders, females carry their egg sac in their jaws before eventually creating a “nursery web” amid foliage, branches and sometimes artificial structures. The female then guards the egg sac and the spiderlings that emerge from it.

Sometimes you find cool things without even looking for them and that was certainly the case with this White-banded Fishing Spider.

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Cross Orbweaver

Posted on July 17, 2020 by tspuckler

The white cross-like marking on the back of this arachnid led to its common name and is its main identification characteristic.

Originally from Europe, the Cross Orbweaver Spider was transported to North America and has settled in nicely because of the similar environment.

Cross Orbweaver Spiders are found in a variety of habitats including meadows, gardens, woodland clearings, hedgerows, semi-arid deserts and evergreen forests.

It is steadfast sentry in my gardens that I look forward to seeing every Summer. Females of this species are almost twice the size of the males.

Like other orbweavers, this spider sits in the center of its web with its head down. During times where it perceives danger, it may sit on the edge of its web with its legs tucked under itself.

In late September, females leave their webs and search for protected locations to deposit between 300 to 900 eggs. The eggs are enclosed within a cocoon of yellow, silken threads. The usual egg deposition sites are under tree bark and in cracks and crevices.

Although I usually tend to see them in the same spot day after day during the warmer months, this spider creates a new web every day.

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Tan Jumping Spider

Posted on June 5, 2020 by tspuckler

Recently I found one of these creatures in my house. This cryptically-colored spider is common on all sorts of vertical surfaces like tree trunks, fence posts, and the outer walls of buildings. Many will overwinter under loose tree bark, which may explain how this one got indoors; it was looking for shelter from Winter.

Jumping Spiders hunt by sight and have very good vision. Like some other types of Jumping Spiders, this species appears to exhibit a curiosity towards humans who come into its sightline.

These furry arachnids have enormous front-facing eyes which make them seem almost mammal-like in appearance. The rest of their eight eyes wrap around their heads, giving them almost 360-degree vision.

Tan Jumping Spiders are most active in the Summer and I commonly see them on the outside of my house as well as on deck rails. Despite their “tan” common name, they are often varying shades of gray or brown.

Though small (less than half an inch), they are accomplished hunters. They approach prey slowly and when a short distance away, make a sudden leap onto an unfortunate insect. They are good jumpers and can leap many times their own body length.

Scientifically known as Platycryptus undatus, Tan Jumping Spiders usually have a wavy color pattern on the upper part of their abdomen. This undulating pattern is why they received the “undatus” part of their scientific name.

Their large eyes and curious dispositions help make jumping spiders one of the most appealing groups of spiders.

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Black Widow

Posted on March 28, 2020 by tspuckler

This dark cobweb weaver is easily identified by the bright, hourglass-shaped mark on its abdomen. It is wildly feared due to its venom.

In humans, bites can cause muscle aches, nausea, and a paralysis of the diaphragm that can make breathing difficult; however, contrary to popular belief, most people who are bitten suffer no serious damage – let alone death.

Like many other spiders, Black Widows puncture their insect prey with their fangs and administer digestive enzymes. The enzymes liquefy their prey’s bodies and the spiders suck up the resulting fluid.

Black Widows are found in temperate regions throughout the world. In the United States, they exist primarily in the South and West. They may be found in dark, man-made dry shelters like barns, garages, basements and outdoor toilets. I have occasionally found them under rocks and logs.

These spiders are primarily solitary, with the exception of late spring when mating occurs. Female Black Widows can live up to three years, while males (which are half the size of females and lighter in color) typically live for one or two months.

Although Black Widows get their name because females practice cannibalism after mating, this has mostly been observed in laboratory situations where the male could not escape being eaten.

Widely considered the most venomous spider in North America (the venom of the female black widow spider is 15 times as toxic as the venom of the prairie rattlesnake), Black Widows are not aggressive and tend not to bite unless thoroughly disturbed.

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Category Archives: Spiders

Texas Brown Tarantula

Banded Garden Spider

Speckled Wolf Spider

Nursery Web Spider

Six-spotted Fishing Spider

Cardinal Jumper

White-banded Fishing Spider

Cross Orbweaver

Tan Jumping Spider

Black Widow