31 December, 2001:
Hi..
Love your site! Found this in my bed...wondered what it might be...
Thanks...
Sarah in Alabama/USA
16 January, 2002:
Reply: Paul Day answers for us:
This is some species of
Crab spider, and since they change coloration a lot,
it is difficult to tell you which species from just a
picture.
Thanks Pauly. |
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17 December, 2001:
HI.
I know you can not identify it for me but I was hoping you could
post it. We found this lovely spider
on the inside of our porch in Clermont, Florida
16 January, 2002:
Reply: Paul
Day answers for us:
This is Phidippus regius, a popular jumping spider species in the US
called the Regal Jumping Spider (named for its regal colors).
Thanks Pauly. |
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8 October, 2001:
Can you tell me what kind of spider this is?
Thanks,
David Sprouse
12 October, 2001:
Reply:
This is a Brown Widow (L. geometricus). It isn't as poisonous as
the Southern Black Widow, but I'd still stay away. It is
commonly found in tropical states of the US. Paul Day -
http://www.losingmylycosa.com
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7 October, 2001:
I'm sorry if i am sending this question to the wrong person,
but I was curious if you could help me identify this spider...the
photo is attached.
Don Lopes
12 October, 2001:
Reply:
This spider is a "Garden Spider" in the US, sometimes called a
"Cross Spider", I suppose because of the pattern on its abdomen. It
lives is a lot of Eastern U.S., and it's scientific name is Araneus
diadematus, it is a Orb weaver.
Paul Day -
www.losingmylycosa.com
Thanks Paul |
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25
September, 2001:
FROM ONTARIO, CANADA:
Found this handsome devil sunbathing at the end of a dock on a cool
August morning at Algonquin Provincial Park in northeastern Ontario.
S/he measured about 2 1/2" from end to end. From what I saw this
kind preferred the ground and made a lightning-quick getaway when
disturbed. A friend identified it as a 'Dock Spider' but I
don't know if this is the correct name for this species. Pic taken
by Graeme Bacque
August 24, 2001, Algonquin Provincial Park,Ontario, Canada
6 October, 2001:
Reply:
This is a fishing spider,
perhaps Dolomedes tenebrosus, a fat female. Raft spider, is a term
commonly used in Europe to define a Dolomedes species. - Paul Day |
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Reply: It looks like a Flower spider which can
be white. Have a look at our
Flower
spider page. Click for a larger photo. |
24
September, 2001:
Thought you may like this picture
to add to your web sight....This spider had a butterfly for its
meal. The other spiders that I have seen are brown in color, this
one is white. Can you tell me why. My guess is, it's an albino
......?
Thanks Ronnie,
from Graham,N.C.] |
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26 September, 2001:
Reply:
This
is a very long shot kind of guess cause of the quality of the
picture, but this spider I think is a Wolf Spider with the
scientific name, Schizocosa ocreata
Paul Day
www.losingmylycosa.com |
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14 September, 2001:
Any idea what this is?
from US, Midwest
Rob
rob@ameritech.net
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9 September, 2001:
Any Idea what kind this is? Our web developer Mitch Moccia and I
watched it outside of our recording studio in Gainesville, FL.
Thanks!
David Williams
www.skylabstudios.com
Click for a larger
photo.
Reply:
This could be Neoscona (not positive it actually is
in the Neoscona genus though). It's possible that the spider is
Neoscona domiciliorum (redfemured spotted orbweaver).
Josh Hillman |
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This one looks like
a Huntsman but was sent in as a Wolf Spider. Anyone help on this
one, please.
26 September, 2001:
Reply:
Looks like a Huntsmen to me, perhaps a juvenile species,
Paul
Day
www.losingmylycosa.com
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Reply:
This spider has been
identified as Gasteracantha elipsoides. It is completely harmless.
The odd shape and colouring is thought to deter birds from eating
these spiders. The six spikes on its abdomen vary from red to black.
The middle of the abdomen is usually white but often has yellow
patches. Gaseracantha elipsoides can be found from North Carolina to
Florida and west to California.
Thanks to Lisa McAnelly
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, US |
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Here's one I missed putting on when it came in. Isn't it a fearsome
looking spider with all those spikes? Could be some sort of a
Jewelled Spider?
(The spider that is listed as
Gasteracantha elipsoides is Gasteracantha cancriformis (spinybacked
orbweaver). Apparently Gasteracantha elipsoides is a non-preferred
synonym.) Josh Hillman |
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Here's an answer
for the wasp mystery:
6 September, 2001:
Reply:
What you found was the nest of wasps and wasps sting the spider prey
with enough venom to paralyze the spider but not kill it. They place the
wasp larva on these spider bodies, in the case of large wasps, in holes
in the ground, or in cocoons in the case of wasps that build, such
as the common mud dauber. The young wasps that hatch have fresh meat to
eat while they are growing and finally emerge and start the cycle all
over again.
The largest of these wasps are the cicada killer which is almost two
inches long. They look very aggressive and appear to have a dangerous
sting but are quite harmless. They prey on the large cicadas that you
can hear making all that noise in trees in the summer that some people
refer to as 17 year locust. The seventeen year refers to how long the
live in the ground before the emerge to shed their skin and become
flying insects.
I have seen another smaller wasp which is purple, actually drag a small
tarantula down a dirt road to get it in her burrow and it appeared to be
half dead and once in, is stung by the wasp. It is paralyzed and ready
to eat for future wasps. Al Bruning
Another answer on this one:
The message dated 3 September, 2001 (regarding the spiders in the nest):
I don't know what kind of spiders these are, but a mud dauber wasp in
the family Sphecidae (hunter wasps: digger wasps, sand wasps, mud
daubers, etc.)
created the nest and stuffed each chamber with paralized spiders for the
wasp larvae to feed on. Information on these wasps and the types of
nests they make along with what they fill them with can be found at
Sphecid Wasps (Sphecidae)
http://natl.ifas.ufl.edu/Wasps2.htm
Josh Hillman,
FloridaNature.org
18/06/02:
Reply:
And yet another answer - The pictures posted on 3 September, 2001
are not of a spider nest. That is a Mud daubers nest. They sting the
spiders, paralyzing them, and pack them in the nest for the young to
eat when they hatch out. The spiders in the photo are a St Andrew's
Cross, but here we call them a black and Yellow Argiope.
Chris Stevens -
sweetest_thang80@hotmail.com |
3
September, 2001:
Hello! We discovered this "nest" in our garage attached to a
cardboard box. Expecting it to belong to a wasp or some kind of
flying insect, we were quite shocked to find most of it literally
packed full of spiders. Some of the "honey-comb" sections were still
occupied by the larvae of whatever made the nest, but the other 70%
were stuffed with these spiders that were in a sleep-like state with
their heads down and legs stretched out behind them. Please help us
answer our questions to this mystery: How did the spiders get in
there? What kind are they? Why weren't they dead? What made the
nest? Did the spiders eat the larvae in the sections of the nest
that we found them in? HELP!!!
Thanks, Jim and Julie Rowland Grand Ledge, Michigan. USA |
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1
September, 2001:
We checked your website, nothing like spider on the left that we
could find. Spider on the right leaves an anchor during the day, and
at sunset they both are very busy catching dinner. Anyway, we want
to make sure they are not dangerous to us or the dog.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Post if you like.
Steve
Jonesboro IN
12 May, 2002: |
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Reply: This is a
garden orb weaver and the one on the right a marbled orb weaver. |
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24
May, 2001: - It was found in the evening our our
doorstep. I put an US penny next to it for size. It's about 3 inches
or so from tip to tip of legs.
Is it dangerous?
Thanks,
John
26 September, 2001:
Reply:
This
is Hogna helluo, a common American wolf spider, despite the
claims, it probably is only 2.5 inches in leg span, at the
most. It is harmless.
Paul Day
www.losingmylycosa.com |
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