Search Results - Field Guide

People notice spider wasps when they notice a female lugging a captured spider to its doom. In most cases, she will drag the spider into a burrow, lay an egg on the spider, and then hunt for more spiders!

Spider wasps in genus Entypus are bluish black and usually have some amount of amber color on their dark, smoky wings. Some species have bright yellow antennae.

Poecilopompilus spider wasps provision their nests with orbweaver spiders. They dig nest burrows into the ground and therefore prefer sandy or other workable substrates.

Furrow orbweavers have a distinctive dark pattern on the abdomen that resembles a furrow. These harmless spiders are common under the eaves of homes and near porch lights.

Longjawed orbweavers are called stretch spiders because they rest with their legs stretched straight out in front of and behind their slender bodies. They build their circular webs horizontally, within a few feet above the surface of a stream or lake.

The arabesque orbweaver is a common orb-weaving spider in Missouri. The coloration is quite variable, but the slanting dark marks on the abdomen help to identify it.

Armored harvestmen have spines on their fingerlike mouthparts (pedipalps). Unlike other harvestmen, members of this suborder of so-called daddy longlegs do not usually have long legs.