Can you identify this spider?

Question

I live in the Willamette Valley in Marion County, Oregon (Keizer, just north of Salem).

I took these pictures of this spider who had made a nest up inside my folded-patio-table-umbrella last night (about 0100 on May 31, 2007). She didn't care much for the flash and poked her head out of the inside of her nest to see what was going on!

Any idea what she might be? I checked a number of possibilities. Clearly not a hobo, doesn't seem like an orb weaver, I don't THINK she's a Wolf Spider - I think she was about 1/2" long...I'm too durn'd ignorant of spiders to even have a decent guess.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Link to picture: http://bp1.blogger.com/_RSljY5PWMkM/Rl6rNzDyV0I/AAAAAAAAAPw/f18fcMzDbpE/s1600-h/DSC_18780001.JPG

More pictures available upon request.

WOW!! That was ***FAST!*** Thank you! Using your info I found several other pictures that looked EXACTLY like her.

As soon as the 4 hours is up, you get 'BEST ANSWER!' Thanks again!

Oh - And thank you again - I have a bunch of bamboo growing in my yard that is my pride and joy and it looks like she and her kids will be eating the sorts of pests that are likely to bother my bamboo! I'll leave her be.

Answer 1

Nice photo! It had everything we need to ID the spider:
Green iridescent chelicerae ('fang-holders'); large blocky, furry 'head'; big white triangular spot on the abdomen; and hiding in a loose sac. These also have 2 very large eyes on the front of the 'head'. It's one of the largest of the jumping spiders, called Phidippus audax. It could, in theory, give you a noticeable bite, but very little venom problem - just biggish fangs, about like a mild wasp sting. They're pretty inoffensive, although they do act very alert and will jump suddenly and aggressively. They just don't generally bite, in my experience, unless handled roughly.

Answer 2

Well It looks like what you have nested in your umbrella is a commonly found Jumping spider.They usually grow no more than an inch in length and are quite distinquishable by the green coloring in the fang area.I do not think that they are deadly but as with any spider,dont go poking your fingers in at them.All spiders leave a irritating bite, highly venomous or not.I would suggest if you want to get rid of her,without harming her,simple use a low pressure hose and spray her out or if your not a spider lover,(I am not)Just blast her with a can of insect killer and then hose out the umbrella and use a good cleaner to remove the left over insect spray.Here is a link from the yahoo image search I used to look it up and has lots of pictures.You are the one that saw it,so from one of your pictures,I cannot possitivly ID it,you however got a first hand look and may find that these other pictures may be helpfull in possitivly ID'ing it

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A9ibyiGKgl9GjlMB52CJzbkF?p=+jumping+spider&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-501&x=wrt

Hope this helps you out.

Answer 3

That is a female "Daring Jumping Spider", Phidippus audax. I have one very similar as a pet. The irridescent green chelicerae(fangs) are a dead give-away that you're looking at some member of the Phidippus genus, and the markings are very typical for that species. These are actually very intelligent little critters, one of the few animals besides us humans that can recognize their own image in a mirror. They aren't dangerous, and while I've read claims of them biting, I've never been bitten by one, and I cannot even begin to give accounts of how many I've handled. They are definately very interesting to watch.

Answer 4

Steven Y got it right, it is a species of mouse spider. Some of them can have a really painful bite, but do not require medical attention. They also, as you can tell by the photos, have large and powerful fangs. They have been known to pierce boots.

Answer 5

I Know now, that's a Tapay - Tapay

Answer 6

tarantula ??