Notes: Fishing spiders are common near streams and wooded areas in Kentucky, and they sometimes wander into nearby homes. silver dollar, with legs outstretched.Ĭolor: Brown with contrasting, darker brown patterns.įeatures: Very large brown spiders sometimes seen running on the ground or sitting motionless on tree trunks. Read More: Eliminating Spiders Around Homes and Buildings (ENT-623), Kentucky Spiders: Wolf Spiders Wolf spiders are among the most common kinds of spiders in Kentucky. Like most Kentucky spiders, the bites of wolf spiders are harmless except to allergic individuals. Because they are brown in color, wolf spiders are often mistaken for brown recluses. Notes: Wolf spiders often wander into homes. silver dollar, with legs outstretchedĬolor: There are many species of wolf spiders in Kentucky, but most are dark or light brown, usually with contrasting spots or stripes.įeatures: Wolf spiders are fast-moving and they are typically seen running on the ground. Size: Wolf spiders range in size from tiny (the size of a pencil eraser) to about the size of a U.S. Read More: Eliminating Spiders Around Homes and Buildings (ENT-623), Kentucky Spiders: Grass Spiders Like most Kentucky spiders, though, the bites of grass spiders are harmless except to allergic individuals. Because they are brown and of a similar size, grass spiders are often mistaken for brown recluses. They also occasionally wander into homes. Notes: Grass spiders are very common in Kentucky lawns where they build large, funnel-shaped webs. Many other spiders have spinnerets, but they are very large and distinctive in grass spiders. Read More: Brown Recluse Spider (ENT-631)Ĭolor: Brown with prominent longitudinal gray or tan stripes.įeatures: Prominent hind spinnerets: these are two, small, finger-like projections on the end of the grass spider's abdomen (used to spin the web). They tend to occur in hidden locations indoors and outdoors: piles of cardboard or paper, stacks of cut wood, and wall-voids of buildings. These spiders are more common in Western KY, less common in Central and Southeastern KY. Notes: Bites are very serious and require immediate medical attention, but brown recluses are timid and unlikely to bite unless handled. Also, brown recluses only have six eyes: most Kentucky spiders have eight. This feature is consistent in adult brown recluses, but can be hard to see and is less obvious in younger spiders. The legs are long and thin and lack conspicuous spines.įeatures: Dark violin-shaped mark on back, with the neck of the violin pointing toward the rear (abdomen) of the spider. quarter, with legs outstretched.Ĭolor: Tan to dark brown, abdomen and legs are uniformly colored with no stripes, bands, or mottling. Read More: Eliminating Spiders Around Homes and Buildings (ENT-623) Females are common males are very rarely encountered. They tend to occur in concealed outdoor locations: piles of rocks, piles of firewood, and dark corners of garages and out-buildings. Black widows are common all over Kentucky. Notes: Bites are very serious and require immediate medical attention, but the spider is timid and unlikely to bite unless handled. Male is slimmer with longer legs (pictured here). Juveniles are highly variable.įeatures: Abdomen is nearly spherical on adult females and juveniles. Adults males are similar, but with a few white markings. Size: Adult female is about 1/2 inch long.Ĭolor: Adult females are glossy black with a variable number of red markings on the top and bottom of abdomen. Spiders of Medical Significanceīrown Recluse Spider Other Common Kentucky Spiders Click on the spider to read more about it. This chart is designed to help with quick identification of spiders that are commonly encountered in homes, buildings, yards, and other urban environments. The majority of Kentucky's spiders are harmless to humans, even when they enter our living environments. University of Kentucky College of Agriculture ENTFACT SUPPLEMENT: Urban Spider Chart by Blake Newton and Lee Townsend, Extension Entomology
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