When you know what to look for, spiders can be easily identified.
Over 500 species of spider reside on plants, under rocks and in the corners of homes in the state of Oregon. The species range in size, color and habitat. They also differ in behavior, and how harmful their venom is to humans. Classification can be broken down to four types of spider: jumping, crab, cobweb-weavers and funnel-webs.
Instructions
1. Forests harbor spiders, though some species prefer dark corners inside homes.
Wear protective clothing, and venture outdoors to a wooded area or indoors to a dark area. Bring a notebook and pencil to sketch the spiders you find so you can identify them later.
2. You never know where a spider may hide.
Look under rocks, in trees and on plants to find a spider if outdoors. Look in the basement, attic or garage if indoors.
3. Observe and note the spider's color, legs and behavior. If it is black and white striped, green or earth-toned it could be a jumping spider. Other signs of jumping spiders are a red, black or a shiny metallic color. If the spider walks in a halting motion on short legs or you see it jump, it could be a jumping spider. If you have a spider that camouflages with its habitat, and holds its first two pairs of legs out to the side you might have a crab spider. Other signs you have a crab spider are if the spider's first four legs are longer than the rest, and it moves like a crab.
4. A garden spider.
Observe the type of web, if there is one. Orb weaving spiders like the garden spider make round webs with spokes and rows that trap prey. If the spider in the web is orange-brown in color with long, spiky legs it's likely a garden spider. If you find a messy-looking web in a dark corner of the basement or under a rock pile (even with no spider present) you may have found the western black widow's web. If the web appears to be a sheet with a funnel-like area or a sac at one end, you are looking at a funnel-web dweller.
5. The infamous black widow spider is easy to spot by the red hourglass.
If you find a web without a spider, tap on the silk lightly with your pencil to see if the spider will come out of hiding. If it does and you see it has a large black abdomen with or without a red hourglass beneath and long black legs, it could be a black widow. Funnel-web dwellers that come out of their funnels can be identified by their coloring. Stripes could mean it is a barn funnel weaver or a wolf spider, while an absence of rings on the spider's legs and a herringbone pattern on the abdomen could indicate it is a hobo spider. A spider with a yellow to yellow-green coloring means it is likely a yellow sac spider.
Tags: black widow, garden spider, could jumping, could jumping spider, crab spider, have crab