Spiders in Southern Florida

[gunslinger]

So a week from Sunday Im heading to Ft. Lauderdale for my spring break. Cheap tix + free bed at a relatives house Anyhow, Ive been there only a few times, dont know the area at all, and I am interested in heading out to look for some spiders while I am there.

Does anyone know some cool places within a reasonable distance of Ft. Lauderdale to find cool spiders or other arachnids worth seeing? Ive google state parks, wildlife areas, etc, but its not so easy to tell what places are like from their websites.

 

[magikscorps]

Hi when I was there a few months ago, I found tons of Gasteracantha cancriformis (spiny orb weaver) TONS of Argope auraunita (black and gold argiope) I found some of these that spanned 5 in .......I was looking for scorpions....Im not really a spider guy.........My feeling about the place is that theres always construction, landscaping, ect there hard to find.........I was looking mostly in the Boynton Beach area .That just a little north of Fort Lauderdale.............There is on park called Loxahatchaie and maybe Gumbo Limbo......Ive been told if you want scorps you have to go extreme north or extreme south Good luck let us know what you find...................Cheers

 

[John Apple]

If your looking for widows, there are Brown and blacks everywhere.
Red widows are in the palm scrubs, easy to find don't let anyone fool ya.
B vagans in Ft Pierce between hwy 68 and 70 in the canal banks.
A Avicularia in Naples , in a neighborhood called Naples manor.
A seemani on Key biscaine
Vinigaroons on Marco Island and some of the barrier islands around the state.
Scorps and whips everywhere.
Nephilia are all over some of the lesser populated areas mostly around canals and wetter areas.
Good luck and happy verting

 

[syndicate]

If your looking for widows, there are Brown and blacks everywhere.
Red widows are in the palm scrubs, easy to find don't let anyone fool ya.
B vagans in Ft Pierce between hwy 68 and 70 in the canal banks.
A Avicularia in Naples , in a neighborhood called Naples manor.
A seemani on Key biscaine
Vinigaroons on Marco Island and some of the barrier islands around the state.
Scorps and whips everywhere.
Nephilia are all over some of the lesser populated areas mostly around canals and wetter areas.
Good luck and happy verting

wait avics and a.seemani are living in florida now??i guesse i cant say im surprised to be honest.

 

[Salticstance]

You'd have to go at least 50 miles north to find any of those red widows in the scrub areas, but if you want to stay in Broward County, you can find Phidippus regius on the palmettos.
I haven't been seeing adult brown widows lately, but you can probably find some juveniles if you look for them.

 

[xgrafcorex]

i had trouble finding jumpers down there when i lived in palm beach county. the only jumpers i found were Menemerus bivittatus on the FAU campus, and an unknown in my backyard (once!).

as for the B. vagans, i went to the specific location one time in the late afternoon (was very cloudy though, so it wasn't all the bright out) and had no luck. did see other small spiders, insects, and even a corn snake though. i've never heard of A. seemani down there though. i have heard of Avicularia being down there...but only from people saying they heard this or that.

up in palm beach co., you can find plenty of Gasteracantha cancriformis, Argiope argentata, Nephila clavipes, and various other species. there are scorpions out there too but i never had much luck with those or centipedes.

it's been a while since the original post..still down there in FL? if not, have any pics?