Hi I reside down south in texas. Both my daughter and myself were mowing our lrg yard and my daughter came across while mowing a HUGE BIG SPIDER!!! :0 I have never seen a spider this huge and this color and I am hoping that you can help me out ... IT is shaped like a black widow,but the body is white with brownish. stripes not up and down. straight across the back. legs are blk with orange strips has long legs and long fangs...Does anyone have an idea to what kind of spider it may be? I get the chills just thinking and speaking of it...
2007-11-03 13:56:13 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Sounds like a garden spider. They're very big with lots of color.
See if this link helps:
http://www.digital.mississippi-photo-gallery.com/pics/spider-sm.jpg
2007-11-03 14:04:42 · answer #1 · answered by Lauren 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you may have run across an Argiope, or Orb Weaver Spider, which includes the Common Garden Spiders. They can be quite large and are very impressive and intimidating. However, they are harmless. They are extremely beneficial and the biggest problem with this spider is the size of the webs that they build, they can be real nasty if you accidently walk through one...gross!!!!
Like I said, they are very beneficial and will not hurt you. They rarely bite, and their venom is only mildly toxic, and will only cause local symptoms, similar to a bee sting. They rid your garden of a lot of the nasties that you do not want around.
Do not kill this spider.
Here are some photos and information.
http://home.att.net/~larvalbugrex/argiope.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_(spider)
2007-11-04 13:05:15 · answer #2 · answered by chahn11 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Give me what you think is huge. A grass spider can be up to 1 inch. Also known as a funnel weave spider it builds a nest down into the grass.
Wolf spiders can be over 1" and have very long fangs. They actually ding burrows in the ground.
When you describe orange and very large fangs I think of wind scorpions.
Look these up in whatsthatbug.com and see if that is the one you saw.
2007-11-03 15:13:25 · answer #3 · answered by paul 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Her comes the Spider Pig!
2016-04-02 03:20:18 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like an Orb Weaver. They make interesting webs and are completely harmless.
Texas has large spiders, some we actually feed grasshoppers to, like pets.
2007-11-03 14:06:54 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋