Search Results - Field Guide

A variety of spiders are adapted for live on and around water. Many of these are called fishing spiders. Several have the ability to run across the water’s surface. Some build webs, others do not.

Cellar spiders look wispy with their incredibly long, thin legs and habit of bouncing rapidly in their cobwebs when disturbed, which turns them into a blur. Some species are very common in homes.

Nursery web spiders build silken tents in plants to protect their egg sacs, then stand guard until the hatchlings are ready to disperse. Large and velvety, nursery web spiders have long legs and variable color patterns.

You probably have at least a few common house spiders in your garage. Take heart: they are harmless and they eat many pest insects.

The green crab spider has spines, and the entire body and legs are pale green to silvery white. Like other crab spiders, its legs extend outward from the sides, and it can walk in any direction.

Whitebanded fishing spiders are often seen on tree trunks, walls, or other vertical surfaces, sometimes far from water. The coloration and markings can vary, but many individuals have an olive-green cast that helps them blend in with mosses and lichens. Note the bristly legs.

A widespread species, the barn spider commonly builds its webs in woods and on the eaves of barns, houses, and similar structures.