- Joined
- Mar 7, 2012
- Messages
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This thread is for links that may be helpful when trying to identify spiders. If you have any additional links, please post them replies, and I'll add them to this list. (I'm only linking to BugGuide articles. I'm not going to post links to BugGuide nodes, because there are a lot of them, and you can easily look them up.)
Anatomy/Terminology
General Identification Information
Information Sorted by Appearance or Anatomical Features
Information That Focuses on Particular Locations
Spider Families, Genera, and Species
Araneidae (orb-weavers)
Lycosidae (wolf spiders)
Salticidae (jumping spiders)
Sicariidae
Theridiidae (cobweb spiders)
Anatomy/Terminology
- Common and Scientific Names of Arachnids (AAS): 2003 edition (PDF)
- World Spider Catalog
- Glossary of Spider Terminology (Spiders.us)
- Anatomy of a Spider (BugGuide): for deciphering written descriptions
General Identification Information
- Spider Identification Guide (Spiders.us): common U.S. species
- Spider Species Identification Guides (Spiders.us): common U.S. species
- Spiders on the Web: photos sorted by family
- Spiders on the Web: high-resolution photos of common spiders and other arachnids
- Common United States Spiders: Spiderzrule could be organized more efficiently, but there are some nice photos.
- Similar Looking Spiders in Different Families (BugGuide): and how to distinguish between them
- List of non-native arthropods in North America. Part II (BugGuide): Sometimes you can ID these at the genus or even species level, because there are simply no other members of the family in North America.
Information Sorted by Appearance or Anatomical Features
- Key to Spider Families (American Museum of Natural History)
- Spider Eye Arrangements (BugGuide)
- Spider Sign - Webs, Egg Sacs & More (BugGuide)
- Australian Spider Identification Location Chart: sorts spiders by how they use silk and where they are commonly found
- Black / Dark Brown and White Spiders (BugGuide)
- Spiders with Red Coloring or Markings (BugGuide)
- Arthropod Pathogenic Fungi (BugGuide): images of spiders with fungal infections
Information That Focuses on Particular Locations
- Australian Spider Identification Location Chart: sorts spiders by how they use silk and where they are commonly found
- Checklist of British Spiders (British Arachnological Society)
- Spiders (UK Safari)
- Spiders of Europe
- Spiders of the Netherlands
- Checklist of Trinidad and Tobago Spiders: spider families
Spider Families, Genera, and Species
Araneidae (orb-weavers)
- Ventral images of some Araneidae (BugGuide)
- The Larger Male Orb Weavers (BugGuide)
- A Photographic Guide to the Female Genitalia of Orb Weavers (Araneidae) (BugGuide): for those who have the tools and the inclination to take a close look
Araneus
Lycosidae (wolf spiders)
Salticidae (jumping spiders)
- Guide to Common Jumping Spiders (BugGuide): "Jumping spiders can often be identified from a photo. However, written descriptions are based on adult specimens."
- Jumping Spiders of the World: detailed descriptions, drawings, photos, and distribution maps
- Jumping Spiders (Salticidae) of Massachusetts - Field Identification
- Salticidae of the World
Sicariidae
Loxosceles reclusa (brown recluse)
- How to Identify and Misidentify a Brown Recluse Spider: Rick Vetter's article
Theridiidae (cobweb spiders)
Latrodectus (widow spiders)
- Widows (Widowman): lots of good information about identifying and keeping widows
- How to Identify (and Misidentify) Brown Widow: illustrated guide by Rick Vetter
