what kind of spider is this? saw it in a deer stand

Not a black widow, not even close.

I don't know, but hope you squashed it.

looks like a dead spider hopefully

Jumping spider

Boreal jumping spider. It is harmless creepy all the same but harmless.

Not sure what it is. I do know that it is not a black widow. Black Widows have comparatively smaller bodies and longer legs than the spider in this picture. I have a black widow in my kitchen in a glass right now that one of my kids captured a couple of days ago. fwiw, the only other poisonous spider around my parts is the brown recluse and the spider in the pic is not one of those either.

I see no reason for squashing it.

We call 'em wolf spiders in East Texas. I'd keep him around to talk to when nothings moving!!!

It's a mobile/roving Hunter-Predator Spider of some kind.

Short Legs, powerful build...not a Web Builder type, a roamer-Hunter.


Not a worry, harmless, and keeps other Bugs down, so, be nice to them...they're on your side.

Like Cypress, I've always heard them called wolf spiders.

The supposed 'Wolf Spiders' I have had pointed out to me, were a hundred times the bulk of this one, as well as grey color, and a totally different shape and style.


Possibly people in ddifferent areas call anything a 'Wolf Spider' instead of finding out the correct name for whatever it is.


Lol...

jumping spider

wolf spider

black widow spider

Absolutely, JB. Glad you posted those pics. Those dang Wolf spiders can do some damage. My father's calf lost about a fifth of it's mass from a bite he neglected from one of those things. They don't mess around.

Every time I see one in or around my home I assume the worst.

-That they're inside my home and it's only a matter of time before one gets me in my sleep.

So far, I've been lucky.

Always saw those jumping spiders everywhere outside growing up.

Luckily I've NEVER seen a Widow.

I'd say if you happen upon a Wolf, kill it or walk away.

If you see a Widow, squeal and RUN!

I used to keep Wolf Spiders as pets when I was a kid. We have some great big black Tarantula's out here and in the late summer and early fall you can find LOTS of them around. I've picked 'em up and moved them out of the road before. The only time I ever came close to getting bitten was when some fool tried to poke it with a stick. When it got irritated I stuck it in the guys face, he screamed like a little girl and ran. Hilarious! Spiders are not a big worry in CONUS, even the dreaded Brown Recluse statistically isn't much of a problem. I did manage to get bit in the neck by a Black Widow. Felt weird for about 5-6 hours and that was it. You guys have watched Arachnophobia one too many times.

Fairly common in SoCal. Not sure of the name, but jumping spider makes sense. I've seen them jump at flies and catch them. Kinda cool and seems to serve a noble purpose.

Jumping/Wolf/Hunting Spider

There are several spiders with that general structure.

The bulk of them are reasonably harmless (barring allergies and stuff).

There are some spiders of that general form that are a whole lot less fun.

The Hobo spider:



And my personal favorite, the Brown Recluse, or "Fiddleback" spider:




Generally, the hunting spiders feed on other bugs and hold no hazard for people.

Certain brands, however, will flat ruin your day.

I've had a couple of close calls with Brown Recluse spiders (e.g. stepped out of shower, pulled (tan) towel off rack, brushed [something] off towel onto floor . . . and it took off running; caught it with a plastic cup) that made all the little short hairs bristle on my neck/arms/back.

Do the Google thing on those two spiders. Much fun.

Yours above looks like the generic hunting/jumping type. Benign for people, not so much for small insects.


Hope you got what you were hunting for.

We've got wolf spiders down here. It's cool because at night you shine your flashlight in the woods and you see tiny little reflective spots in the grass. The wolf spiders have reflective hairs on their butts.

Just be glad you don't have the spider in my attachment. It's a black and yellow argiope and they get about 4" across. The bad thing is that they make huge webs from one tree to another across the rows of the orange grove and if you're not careful at night you'll get a face full. They're harmless but your sphincter doesn't know that when you've got a 4" spider on your head.

You guys have watched Arachnophobia one too many times.

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Venom has different effects on different people. I have a close friend who was bitten by a black widow. He felt it was pretty harmless, too. 4 hours later he was delirious and passed out. His body was visibly tense. A trip to the er and all was well. Probably not fatal for an adult human, but it will ruin your day if left untreated.

You also need to factor in that males inject far less venom. You could be bitten by a male black widow and never even know it since it injects far less, if any venom. Only the females deliver massive amounts of venom.

FLAvalanche, your spider is a male zigzag spider, known for their common zigzag web pattern. The genus is Argiope.

Venom has different effects on different people. I have a close friend who was bitten by a black widow. He felt it was pretty harmless, too. 4 hours later he was delirious and passed out. His body was visibly tense. A trip to the er and all was well. Probably not fatal for an adult human, but it will ruin your day if left untreated.

You also need to factor in that males inject far less venom. You could be bitten by a male black widow and never even know it since it injects far less, if any venom. Only the females deliver massive amounts of venom.

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Your friend's black widow reaction was to a neurotoxin. There are also spiders that inject necrotic venom that destroys tissue. Then there is the issue of infections associated with bites, even when venom isn't injected.

Part of the reason that different people are affected differently by bites then is that there are different types of venoms, injected in differing amounts, and then the sensitivity of the bitee to the venom. Some folks are not very sensitive to the neurotoxin of the black widow, though the bite may still be painful and cause a localized reaction.

Double Naught Spy said:

FLAvalanche, your spider is a male zigzag spider, known for their common zigzag web pattern. The genus is Argiope.

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I saw one of these spiders for the first time this summer when I was pruning black raspberry canes in my yard. It has a very menacing appearance so I had to do the research and found it to be a female black and yellow garden spider, aka zig-zag spider. Apparently harmless to humans, so I let her be.

Fortunately, they don't get to be 4" up here. The one in my yard is only about 2" (including legs). Even knowing she's harmless and is "only" 2" across, I kept my eye on her when I was pruning close to her web.

Banana Spiders

We get these by the thousands in the FL North Woods:



I had to pull off my shorts this weekend - one disappeared in there somewhere!

It seems like anytime someone sees a spider in my neck of the woods, it's a "wolf spider". Kinda like any small bird is a sparrow. Oh well, I love a good spider thread.

I know its the itsy bitsy spider ) seriously the camera lens is out of focus to identify it...

I kept my eye on her when I was pruning close to her web.

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Their web is pretty strong. I was actually impressed at how strong a single strand is. If felt like fishing monofilament.

here is one seating on my tomato bush, should I kill it..? seem OK for now, not bugging me and keeps pest away...