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What spider is this?

Choose what you saw. The list narrows to the spiders in our species guides that match, venomous ones first. It suggests possibilities only: a description cannot confirm what an animal is or that it is safe.

21 spiders in our guides. A match is only a possibility, not an identification.

Banana spider
Photo: Dario Taraborelli · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Banana spider

Trichonephila clavipes

Venomous

Hairy "bottlebrush" tufts on some leg segments, which tell it apart from other big yellow orb weavers, including the Joro spider.

Brown recluse spider
Photo: Meghan Cassidy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · iNaturalist · resized

Brown recluse spider

Loxosceles reclusa

Venomous

Six equal-sized eyes in three pairs. UC IPM calls this the most definitive feature, since most spiders have eight eyes.

Brown widow spider
Photo: Jesse Rorabaugh · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Brown widow spider

Latrodectus geometricus

Venomous

Spiky egg sac (covered in silk points, like a pollen grain or sandspur; about 10 mm per LSU AgCenter, 1/2 in per Clemson 2003) is diagnostic even without the spider

Cellar Spider
Photo: Gavin Slater · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Cellar Spider

Pholcidae (cellar spiders); most common US species Pholcus phalangioides (longbodied cellar spider)

Venomous

Extremely long, thin legs

No confirmed photo of False widow spiders

False widow spiders

Steatoda (US false widows: Steatoda grossa, S. nobilis, S. borealis; also S. triangulosa)

Venomous

Same round-abdomen body form and messy cobweb as widow spiders; same family (Theridiidae)

Golden silk orb weaver
Photo: Dario Taraborelli · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Golden silk orb weaver

Trichonephila clavipes

Venomous

Hairy "bottlebrush" tufts on some leg segments, which tell it apart from other big yellow orb weavers, including the Joro spider.

Joro spider
Photo: Amit Naik · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Joro spider

Trichonephila clavata

Venomous

Golden-yellow silk in very large webs, often high up between the tops of large trees; also on power lines (N.C. Extension, Henderson County)

Wolf spiders
Photo: NathanScientific · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Wolf spiders

Lycosidae

Venomous

Eight eyes: a front row of 4 small eyes, a middle pair of larger eyes, and a widely spaced rear pair on top of the head

Yellow garden spider
Photo: Michael J. Papay · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Yellow garden spider

Argiope aurantia

Venomous

Round web about 2 feet across, built only by females; the spider rests head-down at the center, where a zigzag silk band (stabilimentum) runs vertically.

Trapdoor spiders
Photo: Leila Dasher · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Trapdoor spiders

Mygalomorph trapdoor spiders: mainly Halonoproctidae (Ummidia, Bothriocyrtum), Euctenizidae (Myrmekiaphila, Aptostichus, Eucteniza), Antrodiaetidae (Antrodiaetus); in Hawaii, Barychelidae (Nihoa)

Not stated by official sources

Fangs point downward and strike in a stabbing motion, like a tarantula's (same suborder).

How to use this tool safely

  • Look from a safe distance. Never pick up, poke or corner a spider to see it better.
  • A match here is a possibility, not an identification. Many spiders vary in color, and juveniles can look different from adults.
  • The status shown (venomous, non-venomous or not stated) is what official sources say about each species. "Not stated" does not mean harmless.
  • The tool covers the spiders that have a full guide on this site (21 so far). For every spider on a state's official list, open the state's spiders page.
  • Your choices stay in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.

Spiders by state