Spiders of San Franscisco Bay Area
Western Black Widow - Latrodectus hesperus
Tarantula - Aphonopelma sp.
You can see spiders anywhere - at home, in the backyard and in the wilderness. There is not a lot of information available online about spiders of the San Francisco Bay Area. So we have included more general information about spiders in California. Arachnology is the study of spiders.
Bay Area Spiders
Some Common or Better Known Spider Species:
- Western Black Widow - Latrodectus hesperus ...more
- Tarantula - Aphonopelma iodius (the species most likely to occur in the Bay area)
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- False Tarantula - Calisoga longitarsus
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Often found in the Oakland hills
- Marbled Cellar Spider (Daddy Longlegs Spider) - Holocnemus pluchei
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a rectangular, elongate abdomen with a brown stripe on the ventral side (the belly side - which is typically directed upwards since the spider hangs upside down in its web) which covers its sternum and is a stripe on the abdomen. Very common along the Pacific Coast.
- Johnson Jumper (Red-Backed Jumping Spider) - Phidippus johnsoni ...photo
- Longbodied Cellar Spider (Daddy Longlegs Spider) - Pholcus phalangioides
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a uniformly grey spider with rectangular, elongate abdomen found throughout the U.S.
- Zoropsis spinimana ...photo
An invasive Mediterranean species that is spreading from the Bay Area.
Other Spider Species:
Books
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National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders & Related Species of North America
(Paperback)
by Arthur V. Evans
Highly rated |
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National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders
(National Audubon Society Field Guides) (Imitation Leather)
Illustrated with photogrqphs |
Spider Articles and Links
- Partial list of California spiders from the Nearctic Spider Database, with links to details and photos.
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- Some common spiders of California with photos and notes by Steve Lew.
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- Spiders of Orange County, with photos - many of these are also found in the Bay area.
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- Zoropsis spinimana, A Mediterranean Spider In California, from UC IPM. About the spread of an invasive species starting from the Bay Area.
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- A passionate article debunking the myth of the Brown Recluse in California by Rick Vetter.
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- BugGuide.Net is a great resource for insects and spiders. It contains a vast collection of photographs submitted by users all over North America. You can browse by taxonomical arrangement or search using different fields.
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