Help Identify a Spider

Two fanged spider shown up-close.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.

The last comment and 607 other comment(s) need to be approved.
2470 replies
« Older CommentsNewer Comments »
  1. libby edwards says:

    We were visiting my parents in Oklahoma and found a spider with a pretty silver head and a light yellow back and its slim but I’ve looked up garden spiders and everything but its not any of that sort any ideas?

  2. Jen says:

    Lawrence,

    The spider that you found is an orb weaver and it is completely harmless. They are typically found in gardens and weave wheel-shaped webs. They are actually very helpful because they kill off a lot of bugs such as flies or mosquitoes.

    Hope that helps!
    Jen

  3. Lawrence says:


    Pictures were taken around 2:00am EDT today.
    Body size is smaller than a dime, but bigger than an index fingernail.

  4. Amber says:


    Hi! I found this big gal hanging out in our shed. We live in the woods and see a lot of different spiders, but I haven’t seen this kind yet. Looks like it was attempting to make some web? And for size reference, my hand wasn’t flush with the door(there is NO way I’m that brave haha!). Can you help identify it? Thanks!

    Amber

  5. Dottie says:

    I was bitten by something almost 3 weeks ago. I was sitting at a pool and something bit me on the top of the foot. It left two marks. It itched like crazy. It later developed a rash and blisters. It is now peeling from the blisters. Yesterday I went to open the pool gate and there was a small spider on top of the gate . It had two pincher like claws. I have never seen anything like it. It had some colors on it . I wonder if this is what could have bitten me . It was fast moving and I never saw what bit me. Has anyone ever seen a spider that had claws? I wish I had taken a picture.

  6. Landon H. Thomason says:

    We live about 35 miles north-west of Houston, TX. While moving a woodpile I saw a very strange spider. Its leg span was about the size of a nickle. The body was a shiny hard shell, no hair or fur. It was a pale green (almost mint green) with mottled dark brown patches. I have only seen one.

  7. Gennette Strickland says:

    I am Gennette. I live in Greenvillle, OH.. There other day we took my grand daughter to the park, and when we went to put her on one of their plastic toys, there was a blue spider. I have never seem one and couldn’t get a picture as my son killed it too fast. Can anyone help me?

  8. zach says:

    Zach-Black-Spider
    I just found this spider in my bedroom. I took a picture of it before i killed it. I cannot seem to find any information about it. Can anyone please help me identify it and is it poisonous or not? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

  9. Maria says:

    I have about 10 baby spiders on my kitchen ceiling, 20 on my bedroom ceiling and found a few on bathroom ceiling. They look white when they are hanging from ceiling coming down to say hi to me but seem dark when on my white/off white ceilings. I actually mopped my kitchen ceiling with a mixture of bleach and water. Unfortunately, more appeared the next day. It seems they are on ceilings where past water leaks have been. I would like to know if they can be identified and if dangerous. I have seen daddy long leg spiders and the small black jumping spiders but this is a whole different ballgame now. I am trying to capture one so I can take a picture to post it here. I have four children and don’t want them bitten by these spiders. Someone help:(

    ~Maria

  10. Shelly in MO says:

    Black Fuzzy Spider
    Hi, I found this spider already dead on my kitchen floor. It was tiny kinda fuzzy dark with a little brown spots on its back. Can someone please tell me what it is? Thank you.

  11. Laurel T says:

    I had a rude awakening this morning to this spider inside my ear!! I have a huge fear of spiders anyway but after the fight I had to go through to get this out I am left feeling nauseous and highly paranoid. I need to know what kind of spider it is and if I need to go to the Dr. can anyone tell me what this spider is?

  12. jaime says:

    Black-Spider-Silver-Markings
    Found this spider in a water glass on the side of my bed and I have no idea what it is. It’s black with a tan mark on the back of its abdomen.

  13. soudabeh says:

    I recently moved to Utah from another country and i see A LOT OF SPIDERS..i really don’t know what to do. I even can’t sleep at nights. Please someone help me and tell me how can i understand which spider is dangerous : / ty
    also I tried to kill a spider which was on wall but it went down with web and i couldn’t find it anymore. I don’t know if he will come back to bite me!

  14. AMANDA TOBEY says:

    OK this is not a joke!!!!! I do not have a picture because I saw this spider at age 16 outside of my apartment complex (I am 28 now) I am 99 percent sure that this spider is not indigenous to Oregon where I live. The spider was large abdomen the size of a date!!!The spider was black with rainbow colored markings-several different colors. It had regular size legs and was not fuzzy. The apt was next to a wetland and the spider had built a small web on the side of the apartment. What kind of spider is this?????!!!! I have always wanted to know and cannot find pictures on the net of it. Can still picture it clearly in my mind…

  15. Julie S says:

    This is driving me NUTS!!!! I have found about 50 of these spiders, lurking around my garage, and I’m DYING to know what kind they are. If someone could please let me know, that would be fantastic!

    I live in Frisco, Texas, a rural community to Dallas. My garage is warm (obviously, it’s summertime here) and dry. I walk through my garage and can feel myself walking through webs, scattered all about. My brother says that it’s just a brown spider, and completely harmless. But, I’m the type of person to kill first and ask questions later, because spiders scare the bejeezus out of me. I hope you can see the pictures! Sorry if they are small and blurry; I only have a mobile phone camera and couldn’t get very close, as they stay very close to the walls.

  16. ashlie says:

    I just got attacked by a pale blue butted tan legged spider. It was very small but plump. Any help?

  17. Giuseppe says:

    I have a spider with very long green legs. It has a big butt end, egg/oval shaped. The butt end is grayish with yellow and black stripes going down vertically. can anyone help me?

  18. Giuseppe says:

    i have spider with long greenish legs, and a big butt end that is grayish with yellow and black striped going vertically on the butt end. I live in new york. Can you please help me in finding out what spider this is?

  19. jacksmithson says:

    Hello all the other day I saw a yellow legged house spider with a black butt crawling on the floor in my kitchen it was about 2 inch each way but i dide’t have a camera and I looked on this page and know one has a picture so if anyone see’s one let me know please.

    Thanks Jack

  20. Cindy says:

    I found 2 spiders that look identical to the spider Mercedes photos April 22, 2008 & noticed no one identified it. Please, I already have a phobia of spiders, but this guy is not only big (to me) but soooo ugly & hairy. He jumps & is very quick. Please, is he venomous or not & what kind of spider is he. Please help me. We live in Oregon City Oregon in a wooded area with farm animals. We know it’s not a tick & we don’t believe it is a wolf spider, but it is very hairy & the size of a nickle if you include the legs. He’s thick too.

    Thanks for your help.

  21. mel says:

    every year my room, just my room, get to be a spider’s den in the summer i just get two types one ,small -about a dime-and pale yellowish, and one -this one scares me- about as big as between a quarter and a nickel legs and all ,that kinda looks like two small bubbles stuck together, and its head and legs are black but its but is red and it scares the crap out of me because well my room is very small with a lot of places for them to hide and because its summer i like to stay up late and sometimes i will see them on my wall over my bead and if those … things craw over me in my sleep and bite me, well i don’t want to well if it comes to it die in my sleep because of a spider bite :( so if you can just tell me what kind of spiders they are or if they sound poisonous it sounds like it looks similar to Jenn’s spider but i don’t know. Anyone please help me!

    Thanks,
    Mel

  22. Lillie says:

    Hi, I found this on my chrysanthemum the other day. I searched the internet over and over and could not seem to figure what type of spider this is. I don’t even know if it is even a spider? It’s legs are maybe 1 1/2 inches long. It has antenna’s and 2 beady black eyes and a curled nose? I think the width of it is maybe pretty close to an inch or 1/2 inch? its pretty big. It’s body resembles a shrimp or a lobster in a way. I was just wondering if anyone has ever seen one of these before, this is the first one I’ve ever seen. I’m from North Carolina. If you could help me out with figuring out what it is and if its harmless or harmful I’d be very grateful, thanks. (:

  23. Wayne Schug says:

    My daughter found a large Black Spider with two white diamonds on its back. There is a large web in the basement in a diamond form. We live in Northern Minnesota. Can anyone identify this Spider and if how dangerous is it. Please e-mail me at wavetherapytherapist [at] gmail.com ASAP. Thank You

  24. Brendan says:

    Dear Jorge, the spider you showed us was just a Wolf Spider and are very common, and are harmless.

  25. Angie says:

    Angie-Brown-Spider

    Found this spider last night in my bedroom. We live in West Virginia. It is a very large spider, brown and black, hairy stripped legs.

    Thanks,
    Angie

  26. Taylor says:

    I’m pretty young, not a teenager yet. I’m really scared of spiders, I have a strong fear of spiders. I can’t even kill baby spiders. Even though I know some spiders are harmless, it still scares me a lot.

    Last night I was on my bed playing on my laptop. At the corner of my eye, I saw some black kind of figure. I turned my head to the left and saw a spider. It was about the size of a quarter, I think. The spider was mainly black. Its legs were banded of orange on it. It crawled like a tarantula, it had average speed. It crawled behind my bed. I was kind of freaked out, so I just took whatever I needed from my room and left.

    It would help a lot if you could help me find out what spider it is. Because, well, I admit, I’m pretty scared and I don’t like going in rooms with spiders like that.

    Thanks!

  27. Steffany says:

    I am usually not the type to be afraid of spiders, however, a few weeks ago I was watching a movie on my laptop and I was switching positions when I reached up to move my screen and get rid of the glare. I almost put my fingers on a spider who was just sitting on the corner of my screen. The spider was about the size of a penny and he was thicker than what I’ve seen. By that I mean that his legs weren’t really thin like daddy long legs. He was black with pale yellow stripes.

    His eyes glowed blue! He was extremely fast and I couldn’t kill him. I saw him again and failed, again. Finally, I killed one on my kitchen floor. Again, I killed a second on my ceiling in my bedroom. I live in Akron, Ohio. I see little house spiders and daddy long legs all of the time. They don’t bother me. This spider, however, terrifies me and gives me nightmares. I have looked through the pictures and other websites and I cannot find this spider. I didn’t get a picture of these spiders but I would like to know if they are dangerous.

    Thanks,
    Steffany.

  28. Bretdhin Peterson says:

    I live in Gresham Oregon(near Portland), I discovered a large spider under a log at a local park while searching roguse beetles. About the size of a U.S. Quarter(nickel when curled in a ball). Body shape similar to a large female blk widow, no hair, milky green abdomen, bright red celothorax and legs, and four yellow dots atop abdomen. (::) Please help, concerned about venom.

  29. haley anderson says:

    i have a spider that i have never seen before in any other place than my house. it is a black spider with red legs, i live in northwestern Oregon. i would have posted a picture but my friend spray painted it gold in an attempt to kill it. there are many on my property but only in my pump house and tool shed. and i don’t see them anywhere else, not even my neighbors house.

  30. skylar says:

    I had the same spider Allan did but in Michigan in my yard on the beach and my neighbors had one at first it looked like a black house spider but I am not sure.

  31. Troy says:


    I’ve found several of these spiders in my first-floor apartment in western Germany in the bathtub and on walls of the sitting room and entryway, near the ceiling. None of them appeared to have a web, nor did they retreat when I took flash photos of them. The two pictured (since there’s nothing to reference in the pictures) are both 2 – 2.5 inches in diameter, including the legs. I suspect they may be Wolf Spiders, but they don’t have much in the way of distinctive markings on their backs like I see in most of the photos online. Any help identifying these critters would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

  32. shannon c. says:

    Rami. The spiked spider you saw is a throned bush spider it is venomous and if bitten seek medical attention immediately if you see them try and catch it with a jar bring to a local doctor to have it examined further… not safe around small children……

  33. Paco jaquois says:

    Okay, so in My Bathroom I found a brown spider about the size of a dime and it was all fuzzy we live up in Alaska and we just haven’t really seen anything like it before! thanks!

  34. Joe says:

    I saw a brown spider with a normal style web in my back yard today the spider was about pinky nail sized and had a large green diamond on its back abdomen. Do you what kind of spider this is?

  35. stephen wood says:


    i found this spider in my home in senegal, but can’t identify it. does anyone have any ideas? maybe a small camel spider?

  36. Beth says:

    Hi! Gross spider alert. Anyone know what it is. I live in the midwest

    Brown Body, Black head, Black leg joints, White/yellowish christmas tree shape on top of abdomen.

  37. David says:

    So I live in Northern California, about an hour of San Francisco. My friends and I were camping last night in an area with dry grass and a small patch of forest. When we woke up today in said patch of Forrest we found tiny white spiders with somewhat long almost transparent legs. And there weren’t one or two of these, they were EVERYWHERE! The ground, on the tent, but what they really liked was the mock mossy camouflage I put on the tent, I must of found at least fourth on those spiders in that alone. So what I was wondering is what exactly are these spiders? And are they poisonous?

  38. Timothy says:

    Tim,

    Caught this spider hiding in a box filled with dental material stone in our lab. I Don’t think I was bitten but I would like to know what it is regardless just in case I was bitten. Would love to hear/learn about this spider. Thanks in advance to anyone who can shed some light on this.

    Tim

  39. lyra says:

    Okay I have a spider in my dirty old back yard it is very very small it it black with to palish white strips on its back it lives in a cave like thing it is not under ground i would a preashate it if someone could identify this spider

    oh and michelle , robert, kathy , caisii have a st. andrews cross spider

    ana has a wolf spider keven N may have a jumping spider

    and rami , pam , krystal , and karen have a orb weaver spider

  40. Mark Gabrenas says:

    We found a rather large gray/brown spider when cleaning by the couch today. It was about 2 inches across, including the legs. As my grand kids were VERY interested in it (they are both 3), I wasn’t able to get a good picture until I got it outside, where there isn’t much scale. It had a small head and a larger abdomen. We live in New England. It was completely unaggressive, and I was easily able to catch it in a cup and let it go outside.

    Any ideas what I might be? Just want to be sure I don’t have to worry about the grand kids if it comes back inside and they try to play with it.

    Thanks

  41. Conte says:

    i found a iridescent blue and red spider on my rose busy this morning…it was no bigger than a nickle, but it scared the crap out of me…it raised its front legs and acted kind of like a SHRIMP……?…i torched it but i want to know what it is and if its harmful…i have small children

  42. Edie says:

    just posted a comment about the green spider that looked like a tomato stem on top of a tomato. Forgot to tell you I’m in southern tier, New York State.

  43. Edie says:

    I was moving bark mulch and saw a very strange spider. The back looked almost like the green stem at the top of a tomato, a disguise for the legs underneath which I couldn’t see. The back was the size of a pea or larger, with some brownish green makings. It was a little over an inch in diameter. It moved quickly and I whacked it twice with the back of my shovel, but he got away. I really wanted to get it as it was so unbelievable!

  44. Tanner says:

    I don’t have a picture but I woke up to a black spider with a yellow stripes on its legs about the size of a quarter in my bed like a half an hour ago. I woke up randomly and it was crawling on my shoulder. I don’t really know what the streaks looked like because I was half a sleep but, all I know is it was yellow. It possibly came in from outside my window because I had to take off the screen today and was too lazy to put it back in. But, you can bet I instantly put it in after I saw that spider. If I killed it I would of showed you but i was swatting at it and it wouldn’t die and went under my bed and I lost it because it was dark. I did not get bit but it scared the living “beep” out of me. Not really a fun thing to wake up to.

  45. Bonnie Moffett says:

    Over the years I have tried to be a grownup about my arachnophobia, unfortunately passed on the habit to my daughters. I have reached peace for the most part with most spiders. I cannot handle wolf spiders in my home, etc. Just background information…

    Last night I came upon the biggest spider I have ever seen that was not of the hairy variety. I live in the fingerlakes of upstate NY. I have seen the big black spiders and plenty of wolf spiders, as well as wood spiders, and of course the little annoying ones that try to inhabit every house.

    So I am in my bathroom relieving myself and I look up and on the ceiling is the biggest spider—between me and the door. This sends me into a panic but as I am over 50, I try and get a grip. Eventually I put a towel over my head and make it out the door. My strangled cries to my roommate bring her downstairs immediately, as she thinks someone must be bleeding out or some other crisis. She is not bothered at all by spiders. She manages to catch the spider and take it outside where she feeds it to the chickens. I didn’t know chickens were meat eaters, but I am most grateful.

    The facts: I don’t have real good facts, because if I concentrated any more on the spider I would not have been able to move. My description would be a big fat black body with relatively short legs. I mean fat like rodent fat. I just mean like this spider’s body was the size of a wolf spider. Then the legs were an addition. Dorothy contradicts me, however. She caught the spider and certainly got a much more intimate look. I was actually crying in the living room at the time. No one I know in general would call me a hysterical woman, but well. That is why they call it an irrational fear. Dorothy says the spider was brown with markings. I thought she said corrugated, (variegated?) but that can’t really be correct. I am very sorry not to be more specific, but as I try and find out what this spider was, I have a problem looking through all the pictures. Hence this email.

    One more thing I could add: recently I don’t live where I live much. My house is divided into my little section and my roommates section. I spend most of my time at my boyfriend’s house. For the last few days he was out of town and I chose to enjoy my own little abode. When I was getting dressed yesterday, 3 times as I walked through my bedroom door I encountered that awful (for me) feeling that I had just walked through a spider web—single strand, but much thicker than usual. However, I didn’t see it in any case. As I have a serious mental condition regarding such experiences, each time I did my best to convince myself that somehow I had it wrong. I certainly know the feeling, but don’t expect a single strand across my doorway at about elbow level 3 TIMES within a 15 minute period of time. Seriously, if I had looked up or wherever and saw that spider, I would not have made it to work yesterday.

    Do you need significantly more information? I can get a better description from Dorothy if necessary. I wonder if anything is springing to mind. This is not an ordinary common spider. Somehow if I can identify the spider I can relieve myself of having to worry about it in some way. I think. I hope. Can you help me?

    Bonnie Moffett
    Enrollment Services Specialist
    Tompkins Cortland Community College

  46. bryan says:

    i found a spider in my basement in northern Illinois walking across the sealing it was a little bit larger than a quarter in diameter. It was bulky like a baby tarantula it was also very furry. It was all black with one white stripe down its abdomen. I am curious so please get back to me if you know what it is because i cannot find it online.

    thanks,
    bryan

  47. lyssa says:

    For all of you wondering what that hairy black spider is that has either white or orangish spots on it’s butt (sometimes resembling a face), it is called a Daring Jumping Spider (Phidippus Audax).

    They are hardly poisonous (nothing more than a bee sting). Just so you know.

    P.S. They make great pets.

  48. leila says:

    I just came across a spider in my home. Its black, has one orange spot on its back 4 eyes 2 are green and bright green pinchers! Help me!

« Older CommentsNewer Comments »

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *