by Amanda
(Wisconsin)
I was camping in Wisconsin and found this spider on the back side of my tent. I saw the shadow from the front and thought that the shadow was going to be deceiving but when i went around to the back it wasn’t.
Drought Smart Plants reply: So, what you’re saying is that it was just as large as the shadow made it appear? Too scary!
In general, the larger the spider, the less dangerous its bite (except for tarantulas and such, which we luckily don’t have in most areas of North America).
I’m going to suggest that this is a grass spider, based partially on where you found it (ie: not in your house) and the arrangement of the legs and the large body. There are many kinds in this genus, and only a specialist can pin down exactly which one it is. They are all Agelenopsis species.
They eat mainly insects which they can chase down on foot, building a horizontal sheet with a funnel to one edge. There are no sticky fibers for insects to stick to, but long telegraph fibers link to the funnel opening, alerting the spider to prey caught in the web.
Great picture, by the way.
Jacki
Comments for what kind of spider is this?
May 29, 2012
spider
by: Amanda
Thanks for the info it would have taken me forever to find it online without knowing what kind it is and i took the picture with my cell phone 🙂
you’re right it is a grass spider a female i googled it and found a few that looks just like mine.
I’m so glad you found it. I’m not an entomologist, but I find these eight legged creatures so interesting!
Jacki.
