Help me identify this Freaky Looking Spider
By dizzblnd
@dizzblnd (3073)
United States
August 7, 2008 6:27pm CST
He has been on the outside of the porch for about 3 weeks now. He is pretty weird and evil looking (probably poisonous) I live in Central Florida. The lighter looking spots are silver.. the darker ones are yellow. He MIGHT be a banana spider. He is about 2 inches from top tip to bottom tip of his legs. His body is about 1/4 inch wide. Hes web... well.. it looks reinforced, but he's no Charlotte
Do you know what kind of spider he might be? Have you found any unusual spiders around your house?
4 people like this
11 responses
@tammyr (5946)
• Etowah, Tennessee
8 Aug 08
Well, we call them writing spiders round here. they are not poisonous. They are cool I think. We had one once that had babies and the babies made thier nest all over our garden.
It is funny you said it is no Charlotte. I have ALWAYS thought that Charlotte must have been a writing spider hence the reason she was able to 'write' in her web! lol
2 people like this
@tammyr (5946)
• Etowah, Tennessee
8 Aug 08
You may be right spiders are so hard to distinguish!! When I read the post above I recalled the real name of ours is the ORB spider, but I do think they might be close relatives because the web looks exactly the same with the zig-zag on it.
1 person likes this
@dizzblnd (3073)
• United States
8 Aug 08
Writing spider? I wish I had a Charlotte lol Interesting.. looks like that others call it a writing spider too, I did an image search for writing spider, and although some look very close, I do believe mine is a banana spider. Thanks for your input
1 person likes this
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
8 Aug 08
We had some spiders that hung around Our bushes for a while and they looked like the one in your picture. The trouble with trying to identify spiders is that you type in a name and come up with a lot of different pictures and shapes. I tried orb spider and there were fat ones skinny one and ones with long leg and some with short legs. But I think that the spider in your picture is an orb spider because of the web .
2 people like this
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
8 Aug 08
I cannot see the photo yet as I am coming in through my emails, but I know for a fact that I will not be able to identify it as I am petrified of them. I think if he had been on my porch he would have been booted off by now!!
It must be worse for you as you have a lot of poisonous spiders where you are, in UK we do not have to worry so much about that thank goodness. I did have a weird spider in my garden the other week though, it looked like a spider crossed with a beetle and it was gross!
1 person likes this
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
8 Aug 08
I don't know much about spiders. I know last summer we found some mutant wolf spider in our basement. It was huge, about 4 inches long and probably 4 inches around. Of course since I hate spiders that are close to the size of my small cat this thing was like a monster. Good Luck with you spider.
1 person likes this
@sugarplum9084 (1771)
• United States
8 Aug 08
OH! Don't kill it, it is a good spider, a female one at that, the men are a lot smaller haha, and they are more plain and don't have the intricate patterns- remember the females in spider world are dominant and beasty! haha. I forget the name unfortunately, but if I find a picture of the one that lives outside of my house I will definitely link it to you. No worries, it's a safe, harmless spider.
2 people like this
@sugarplum9084 (1771)
• United States
8 Aug 08
Here you go... Notice the web is similar, they weave zig zag lines sometimes, which makes them distinct for their species (The male is a hunter, and does not weave). There are a few varieties, but it's the same spider, notice the leg shape is similar and the body. Depending on where you live they tend to look slightly different. They are a great spider! I remember I was scared that it was poisonous haha. http://www.flickr.com/photos/84833496@N00/1347462252/in/set-72157601871420167/ I hope I helped!
2 people like this
@dizzblnd (3073)
• United States
8 Aug 08
Thank you.. yep that's what she is.. but yours is a lot fatter. One of mylot friends Lori, confirmed my suspicions.. it IS a banana spider, and you are correct, it is harmless. I won't kill it, it is safe until my husband come back from a business trip. They don't bother me.. I am always catching them in the house and releasing them outside. Thanks again
2 people like this
@skinnychick (6905)
• United States
8 Aug 08
I haven't found any lately and don't want to. I'm afraid of spiders. They freak me out. Ughhh!
@Uroborus (908)
• Canada
8 Aug 08
What you have there is a Black and Yellow Argiope spider, which is more commonly known as a Writing Spider, as a previous post said. Other common names include Yellow Garden Spider, Golden Orb-weaver, or Yellow Garden Orb-weaver. They like to eat in flying insects including wasps and other stinging insects, so they can be good to have around.
One way of identifying them is the distintive zigzag band that they spin above and below the ceter of the web. This reinforces their web and is how they got their name "Writing Spider". This spider is common throughout most of the 48 lower states.
This spider is not dangerous to humans. It takes a lot to make this spider bite you. They will only do so if they are severely provoked, so just brushing your hand accidently against it or something like that is unlikely to make it bite you. Even if it does bite, it isn't any more dangerous than a bee sting (usually bee stings are not a danger except for some people whio have an allergy to bees).
1 person likes this
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
8 Aug 08
Ewwwww I hate spiders! I see you've found a name for it. I know I used to find that kind in my garden from time to time. One thing I'm always watching for now that I live in the south is tarantulas. Found 5 of them on my screen porch last year. And yes while I know they are harmless, I still killed them. I figure if it invades my territory its fair game. LOL
1 person likes this
@Burnout99 (30)
•
8 Aug 08
It looks like a spider that freaked the daylights out of me... it was while I was walking around in Syndey Australia. Being in Australia, I was already overly cautious because they have many deadly creatures over there! I almost walked smack into it. It had a super huge web that hung just high enough to catch an average person in the face... and that bad boy was doing a spread eagle smack in the middle of the web! I think it was called a St Andrews Cross Spider. It matches the colour patterns and position in the picture that was posted however the St Andrews Cross Spider is only found in Australia and Tazmania. Maybe it is related to the banana spider?