spider
Posted by william albertsen on September 19, 2005
Q: I found 2 spiders the size of a quarter nesting in 2 sep locations on my house. THey had orange legs, big yellow back with mirrored black lightning like markings. Can you point me in the right direction to identify them?
Habitat: suburban/yard
State: Maryland
Habitat: suburban/yard
A: I can't tell you the exact species, but I do think I can narrow it down for you. Sounds as though you have orb-weaving spiders in the family Araneidae. This is a very large family of spiders with several hundred species found in North America north of Mexico. If you google this family you should be able to come up with some look-alikes that are close enough to confirm my thought although you may not get a picture of the exact species. Hope you aren't alarmed with your spiders as they are certainly NOT dangerous (only the Brown Recluse and Black Widow spiders are a threat). Thanks for asking and good luck in finding out more about your "visitors".
John Wiessinger ( September 20, 2005)