Missouri Spiders Identification Chart
Among the different spider families living in missouri the brown recluse and the northern black widow are the deadliest.
Missouri spiders identification chart. Most of these are also common throughout the eastern u s. Naturally the spider enthusiasts on bugguide would easily gather the local house spiders and yard and garden spiders. Missouri is home to at least 480 species of spiders.
Others are surprisingly large with a legspan of 4 or more inches. Size is helpful when determining the two suborders of spiders though other characteristics are more diagnostic. Triangulate orb weaver verrucosa arenata yellow garden argiope aurantia banded garden argiope trifasciata goldenrod crab misumena vatia and members of the wolf lycosidae family.
Spiders found in missouri include 30 unique species from confirmed sightings by contributing members of spider id. Common house spiders parasteatoda tepidariorum cellar spiders pholcus spp crab spiders xysticus spp and yellow garden spiders argiope aurantia are frequently seen in gardens or residential areas. Some individuals are the size of a pinhead and are easily overlooked.
While the common house spiders may look scary with a body shape similar to the infamous black widow its grey coloration white marbling and banded legs make it easy to distinguish. Species of the wolf lycosidae family. The preliminary results show that the top five types of spiders in missouri documented belonged to those very familiar.
Spiders of missouri the spiders included in this guide are ones that i have frequently encountered in our area.