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ncaptiva Fort Myers, FL Aug 05, 2013

Just a quick question for you spider gurus! I'm in Sarasota, FL, and I often see, or terrifyingly run directly into, gigantic spider webs that run from, say, a tree branch, all the way to the ground (meaning the spider appears to be suspended in mid air). My question is, are there a lot of spiders in FL that do this, or is it narrowed down to a select few?

If it's not a select few, I will try to get a picture of a particular one that builds its giant branch-to-ground web right in my front yard. The spiders are always huge, by the way, and often remind me of wolf spiders (the way they look).

Thanks!

Post #9621755
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Flapdoodle Minot, ND Aug 05, 2013

Do they look like this? http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/golden_silk_spider.htm
These, like all other orb weaving spiders, are harmless to humans.

Post #9621806
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ncaptiva Fort Myers, FL Aug 26, 2013

Shoot, I forgot that I posted this a while back. Thank you for responding! The spiders I usually encounter don't look like the golden silk spider although I'm glad you pointed that one out, in case I ever do come across one... I'll know not to scream & flail wildly at it, at least ;)

The ones I most often see are more similar to the wolf spider's body style... Thick, more compact bodies than the golden silk or banana spider types. We run into them when walking the dogs at night & it's pretty mortifying because running into one of those means that the gigantic spider is somewhere at waist level, on my body (which is encapsulated in webbing) probably screaming and flailing as much as I am. It might be worth mentioning that there are a lot of oak trees around, although that's not always what they build their webs from.

The one that was building its web outside my house seems to have stopped lately but when I come across another one, I'll post a photo here :) Thanks for your help!

Post #9641522
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Flapdoodle Minot, ND Aug 26, 2013

Here's another possibility - http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/spiders/tropical_orb_weaver.htmn and http://www.floridanature.org/species.asp?species=Eriophora_ravilla

Post #9641529
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ncaptiva Fort Myers, FL Aug 27, 2013

Yes! Those look a lot like what I've been encountering. Thank you! I feel complete now ;)

Post #9642504
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