Help Identify a Spider
Need help identifying a spider? If so, then take a look at our collection of spider pictures to see if it looks like yours.
You can also look through the comments below to see if any of the images match your spider.
Don’t see your spider? feel free to upload your photo here and we’ll attempt to id it, and if we can’t, then perhaps one of the visitors can after we post it.
Agujan,
The spider you found is an Orb Weaver, they are harmless and certainly not venomous. They spin new webs every daily and catch a lot of pesky bugs. Hope this helps!
Jen
Martin,
The spider you found is a Trap Door Spider, they typically aren’t dangerous but are known to rear up on their back legs if they feel threatened. Hope this helps!
Jen
I have found this same type of spider in both bathtubs in my house. I live in central Indiana very close to a pond. It looks exactly like the spider in you #22 post. Could you identify it for me.
Thank you,
Eliot
This spider was found in Eagle Rock, CA in a garage. The body is 7/8″ long. The entire size with legs is about 2″.
We want to make sure this is not a dangerous spider.
Thanks,
Martin
Please, identify this spider because it is really creeping me out. I live in Northern California, near Santa Rosa but have never seen this spider until about 5 years ago. I call it the Halloween Spider because by the time Halloween arrives, it is huge. They live only outdoors, in the open ~ not hidden in any dark corners.
They make a huge, very perfect web and they normally sit directly in the middle of their web. Their webs are in very obvious places such as across a walkway, in front of a door or in bushes or trees. Over the past 5 years, the spider has been spotted everywhere throughout Sonoma County. I’d like to know what this spider is and if it is venomous. It is about the size of a quarter.
Huge spider that I found in my son’s room..needless to say it is dead
now..picture isn’t all that good as I wasn’t getting too close.. I
live in Mt. Vernon, WA..kind of curious as too what kind of spider it
is..
Thanks
Dawn
Gerard,
The spider you found is an Argiope. Also known as a garden spider or orb weaver.
Drew,
The spider you found is an Orb Weaver… very harmless spiders. Hope this helps!
AeoniuM XEonAX,
That spider is a Goldenrod Crab Spider, these spiders can bite but shouldn’t cause any threat. They are well known for their ability to camouflage by changing colors.
This picture was taken in November in south east Michigan. Can’t find anything to identify it online and found your site. The spider is sitting on a regular plastic garden leaf rake to give an idea of a size scale. Thanks.
I like in Arizona, just North of Scottsdale, abutting the Tonto National Forest, so there is some real weird insects out here, not to mention rattlers and scorpions. But, the house I moved into had a few of these large spiders ( a good 3-5 inches in length) that I found in the cracks between the patio and house. There were not webs, just a bunch of these guys. These resembled “skeleton” spiders, and moved very very fast, when cornered they would raise their legs up as if to attack, of course I smashed them all with a shovel. Any help on what kind of bad boy this one is would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Graham
the yellow striped spider is very poisonous! Stay away from them..
Just wondering what kind of spider is in the picture I am going to email to you from the above email addy…..thanks for your help!
Tracy Solberg
Here, check this out-
it’s white and bony.
Can you give more info about it?
I thought it was just a mosquito bite at first, then about two days later my right leg became extremely swollen. I went to the doctor and they said yes it is a spider bite and they put me on Sulfamethoxazole. Its been a week now and my ankle is now swollen and the bight is hard and leaking purplish liquid. I’ve gotten the chills once. I’ve sent you a picture of the bite also. Thanks.
Oh yes. Forgot to mention. It is winter time and I live in North Georgia. Sorry and thank you again!!
Sam
I don’t have pictures, sorry. I was cleaning my house today and found tons! of spiders in one area. They were on the inside of the bottom step of our stairs. Our stairs are right by the front door. There was about 3-4 of them there and then 2-3 on the wall. They are hanging in webs, which at the time I thought were cobwebs.
Their bodies are extremely small but their legs are about an inch long. They’re plain light brown.No fuzz or any distinguishing marks. They move pretty quickly but almost as if intoxicated. I’m not as worried about those as I am the one random spider I found with them. For the first time I saw a spider, about the size of a nickel. It was black, not fuzzy at all, and had these rally pretty shiny silver/yellow spots covering its body. It ran pretty fast and in a straight line. I noticed them when I was sweeping and saw a cricket that I thought was stuck on the fuzz of the stairs carpet. Being an animal lover I wanted to help it and put it outside.
When I did the brown ones ran away, but the black one actually came closer towards me. I freaked out. I would take pictures but I demolished it with my foot when it started going upstairs towards the nursery. Should I be worried about either of these type of spiders? I have a seven month old in the house. If I find more I will take pictures, although I’m hoping to not have to.
Thank you!!
Sam
I found a spider in my bathroom, with legs spread its probably thumbnail size with the body being really small. Its has red legs, looks just like a black widow in shape and just as small, the body is also reddish and by red I mean fire ant red. This really concerns me because its been a week since i killed it and tonight I almost ran into another one repelling from the ceiling in the same bathroom… I don’t have a picture because I panicked, I have 3 cats, and these things look deadly, any ideas?
I came across your website, after looking over some pictures I took last year! I was wondering exactly what kind of spider was lurking in my backyard?!? Of course I found the biggest black widow in my daughters toy box in the backyard. Take a look :)
okay i only have a picture of this thing on my cell phone, but i was fishing in northern pa right before winter and in the shallow cold stream crawling on the wet rocks was a giant bright bright orange and white striped spider about the size of a CD! what is it and it has to be venomous!!!
chris f #183
i have those spiders in my house to. i live in Montana and i’m thinking that it is a hobo just because its distinct mark of the 2 “balls” on the end of its fangs but i’m not 100% sure just because you said that the spider’s leg span was about 2-3 inches.
look into a hobo spider:)
#1149 looks like a Black Widow. The legs and abdomen give it away every time.
#1050 and 1109 I would say are Bold Jumpers. We had one in our home in Southern California. Not native to the area. They are aptly named though! I found one about the size of a nickel on the ceiling and when I came within 5 feet it was ready to jump. I got to see it jump a few hours later when my father tried to catch it. Cool looking spiders though!
I have a spider that’s about the size of a fly with body and legs included. It’s clearish with black stripes on it’s legs. Since my only camera is a cell phone, all pictures are extremely blurry. I have two small children and would like to know if it’s dangerous. No one has been bitten by it and I might just kill it to be safe. I live in Douglas WY and since I have children, I would like to be able to identify every spider I come across.
#671/628, I am trying to find out about this spider as well….. any info ?
thanks,
B
There’s a spider outside of my house and while I really like it my whole family is creeped out so please tell me what kind it is so I know it’s not a big deal for it to be around!!
It is medium size, but grew almost twice as large in one week. The butt of it is fat and huge, gray and has hair on it. The legs are striped in orange and black, and the rest of the body is just black. Oh, and the legs are spread apart and long.
I don’t have a picture, but please help me out!
Sal #87 I work in a garden center in coastal ga. and that my dear is a Brown Widow and is just as poisonous as the infamous Black Widow so yes beware!!!!!
Rachel’s spider in #22 is a wolf spider, we took one just like this to the exchange office in our town to find out because we had them everywhere, they usually stay outside and try to avoid humans but WILL bite if they feel threatened. We were told that people have had reactions to the bites but nothing really serious has been reported.
My friend took this picture this afternoon.
He found it on an olive tree in his garden and wondered if anyone could shed any light about it.
He placed the spider in a jar to take its photograph and then released it back where it was found.
Thank you
Gerard
Live in Monterey, CA
Found spider under a dead oak leaf. It had the same coloring. Yellowish brown
Two horns on back 2/3 of body pointing up.
black spot on bottom of body
2 front legs like black widow compared to rest of legs.
body the size of a thumb nail
I found this spider in the middle of its web right outside of a window at our home. We live in western Pennsylvania, and have never seen a spider that looks like this. Just wanted to see if anyone might recognize it.
I live in lower Michigan and the other day on the bathroom floor was a spider never seen before. I didn’t think of taking a picture on the count I am terrified of them. We have a brand new white tiled floor (not sealed yet) so I know what I saw was correct. It was small the size of a dime (legs and body) but it had red legs and a dark purple black body. When I killed it the floor stained red. Does any one know what kind of spider this is. Thanks Lynn
Hey Jon,
The spider you sent in is from the Orb Weaver family.
Jen
Brent –
The photo of the spider you submitted is a Trap Door Spider. The bite of the Trap-Door Spider is of low risk (non toxic) to humans. It is a non-aggressive spider – usually timid but may stand up and present it’s fangs if harassed. Rarely bites – but if so it can be painful.
Thanks for sending your photo in!
Jen
Ralph,
The spider you submitted is from the Orb Weaver family. Orb Weavers spin new webs every night and are harmless to humans. They are very beautiful spiders! Thanks for sharing your photo.
Jen
This spider was hanging outside my back door. It was about the size of a quarter. Any idea what it is?
Thanks,
Kim
Hi
I live in the Atlanta area.
My kids found this spider in our backyard a few days ago and the next day we found a little smaller one–they look the same.
Can you please help me identify what spider it is?
Have a wonderful day,
Sabine Elbert
Here are a couple of shots of a spider I found on a schoolyard in the Chicago area recently. The whole thing would likely fit on a nickel or so. Thanks.
Jon
I found this beautiful spider at my fathers house in southern Oregon, nobody has seen one like this ..We are wondering what kind it is It is about 3/4 inch long ..Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you much.
Ralph Woodford.
Can you help me identify this spider?
Hello, I came across this site on a google search trying to find a way to identify the spiders I have attached photos of… I think I found all of them around northern California. Some were found in Alameda County and a couple might be from Shasta County, CA. Please let me know any info that you have available, or maybe I can get these photos posted on the site to help me figure out what others think they might be….thanks!!!!!
amanda go.
Berkeley, CA
I would like to know what type of spider this is and if it is venomous. We recently found a couple in our garage. We are located in Victoria Texas, which is the southeast part of Texas. This is the first time my wife and I have seen these around. Your help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Brent
Sonda,
That is definitely a Sowbug Killer.
I found the same spider that Donna McKune found on a huge web in between a tree and a bush at my house in salinas california. the web was about two feet diameter. The spider was about an inch and a half around or. the body was 2cm around cought it and let it go
I have the exact same spider as in #7 but have not seen any comment as to what kind of spider it is? Does anyone know?
I found the same spider in New Mexico as #1229. She (?) has spun a beautiful web and her “backpack” is becoming very large…I’m thinking that is her egg sac?? Could you tell me if this spider is poisonous as she is at my mom’s house and if she lays eggs there will be a bazillion baby spiders running around. She has been fun and amazing to watch. Thanks for any info you can provide!
I found out that it is a garden spider, just a really big one!
My daughters are staying in Yangshuo, China teaching English and this spider came free with their apartment.
Hi! I don’t have a picture of the spider we caught, but it looks exactly like the #62 Sonda spider above and we would love to know what it is and if it is dangerous. This is the 4th one I have caught. Actually the first 3 I squished but my husband did not believe me when I told him it had fangs! So I bravely caught one! We live in Montreal Canada. In a condo building. I caught this one crawling on the floor in my living room Nov.6 2009. It is fast and also observant of its surroundings. The coloring and size is the same as the #62 spider…please let us know what it is. Thanks!!I
Briana,
That spider you sent in is a Garden Spider or a Argiope, which means it is harmless. Check out our section on “Garden Spiders” for more information.
-Jen
Hi Chris,
That spider looks to be a Barn Spider. They are usually found in the southwest, and eastern parts of the US. They like shady spots – like barns, caves, cliffs, etc. They aren’t harmful in any way.
It is also possible it is a type of Orb Weaver, which is similar to a Barn Spider and again harmless.
-Jen