Spider Flashcards

This spider does not build a shelter. It hunts over a limited territory and often basks in the sun, keeping warm and ready for quick pursuit of potential prey. There are more than 100 species of this genus in the United States and Canada. Only a specialist can distinguish them reliably. description Male 1/8-3/8" (4-10 mm), female 1/4-3/8" (5-10 mm). Slender, long-legged. Dark or with lengthwise dark-and-light stripes. Covered with long hair. Upper row of large eyes occupies major area on the front of the head. Spines on legs relatively long.

Despite its reputation, this spider often attempts to escape rather than bite, unless it is guarding an egg mass. Males do not bite. After mating, the female often eats the male, earning the name "widow." description Male 1/8" (3-4 mm), female 3/8" (8-10 mm). Black. Male's abdomen elongate with white and red markings on sides. Female's abdomen almost spherical, usually with red hourglass mark below or with 2 transverse red marks separated by black. Legs of male much longer in proportion to body than those of female. Spiderling is orange, brown, and white, gaining more black at each molt.

description Daddy-long-legs are members of the family Phalangiidae.Members of this family have 4 pairs of extremely long, slender legs. Most are 1/8-1/2" (4-12 mm) long. The second pair of legs is longer than the others, and is used like antennae. Sometimes legs may be missing because they break off easily and cannot be regenerated. Adults are frequently seen in huge gatherings, standing with legs interlaced. They prey on small insects and feed on soft, decaying organic matter.

The Funnel Web Spider is a member of the family Agelenidae. Funnel web weavers are small- to medium-sized spiders, 1/16-3/4" (1-20 mm) long, that are often found in homes and fields. Most of these spiders have 8 eyes, arranged horizontally in 2 parallel rows, but some have 4-8 eyes in curved rows. Some cave species have no eyes. In many species, the hind pair of spinnerets is twice the length of the other 2 pairs. All members of the family have long, thin legs with 3 claws on each tarsus. Funnel web weavers spin sheet webs of nonadhesive silk. There is a characteristic funnel extending off from the center to one edge, where the spider hides, and a 3-dimensional barrier web over the top. When a flying insect hits the barrier, it falls into the sheet below. The spider then rushes out of the funnel, bites its inspect prey, drags it back to the funnel, and feeds. Many funnel web weavers live in leaf litter. Some are often found near ants. There are over 400 species in North America.

During the day the spider hangs head downward from the underside of the web near the meshlike center or hub. The spider repairs the webbing each day, replacing half but never the whole web at one time. description Male 1/8" (4 mm), female 7/8-1" (22-25 mm). Female's cephalothorax pale gray with 3 black spots on each side; legs dark with brownish bands and conspicuous tufts of black hair on 1st and last pairs of legs. Female's abdomen brownish green, spotted with white in irregular pattern. Male's body color drabber; legs also have tufts of black hair. In both sexes abdomen is 2 1/2-3 times as long as it is broad.

description The Tarantula is a member of the family Theraphosidae. Tarantulas are large, hairy spiders, 1 3/8" (33 mm) or more long, with a legspan up to 5 7/8" (150 mm). These spiders have 8 closely grouped eyes; the large middle pair are circular with 3 eyes on each side. Each leg has 2 claws at the tip and a tuft of hair underneath. There are microscopic bristles on the abdomen, which break off easily and can irritate the skin of small mice and other prey. Males have longer legs and are more active than females. Males are short-lived and do not molt after they mature at a few years of age; females continue to molt and may live 20-35 years in captivity. Nocturnal, tarantulas hide in dark cavities or burrows during the day, emerging to hunt by touch in darkness. Most line the top of the burrow with silk, but do not spin webs to catch prey. They were formerly called banana spiders, because tropical species arrived in cargoes of fruit. About 30 species are found in the southern United States.

description Crab Spiders are in the family Thomisidae. Most spiders in this family hold their legs outstretched to the sides like crabs and can move forward, sideways, or backward. They have a short, rather broad body, 1/16-3/8" (1.5-10 mm) long, and 8 small eyes that are often located on raised bumps in 2 backward-curved rows of 4 eyes each. The second pair of legs is often much heavier and longer than the third or fourth pair. There are 2 claws on each tarsus. These spiders wander over the ground, climbing flowers and plants in search of prey. They do not spin web snares, retreats, or overwintering nests, but the male of some species may cover a prospective mate with loose silken webbing and tie the female down. The female produces a silken sac for eggs, usually guards it a while, but dies before spiderlings emerge. There are more than 200 North American species.

description The Banded Garden Spider is a member of the orb weaver family (family Araneidae). Orb weavers comprise a huge family of spiders with several hundred North American species. These spiders vary greatly in shape, color, and size, measuring 1/16-1 1/8" (2-28 mm) long. They have 8 eyes arranged in 2 horizontal rows of 4 eyes each. Their jaws, or chelicerae, usually have a small bump, or boss, in the outer margin, although some species lack this boss. The male is commonly much smaller than the female; males of some species bear special spurs of clasping spines on their legs. Most orb weavers spin spiraling orb webs on support lines that radiate outward from the center. The plane of the web may be vertical, horizontal, or slanting. Although uloborids, ray spiders, and tetragnathids also build orb webs, each family has a different type of spiral thread, and usually each species adds its own characteristic pattern. The male orb weaver often spins its own orb web in an outlying portion of the female's web. Many orb weavers replace the entire web daily, spinning a new web in the early evening in about an hour. Members of this family exhibit different degrees of sociality - some are found in woods, others inhabit caves and dark places, still others spin webs in grasses. The family was formerly known as the Argiopidae, which included ray spiders and tetragnathids.

This common species enters houses, hunting on windowsills and sashes. description Male 1/4-1/2" (6-13 mm), female 3/8-5/8" (8-15 mm). Black with a short gray or white crossband on abdomen and several gray or white spots. Pale markings, often yellow or orange in spiderlings. Chelicerae metallic green.