There are many different types of spiders in Arkansas, but only a few are commonly encountered by people. The most common spiders in Arkansas are the American house spider, black widow spider, brown recluse spider, cellar spider, and wolf spider.
The American house spider is a small, brown spider that is often found in homes. These spiders are not aggressive and pose little danger to humans. Black widow spiders are much more dangerous, and their bite can be fatal to humans. However, these spiders are not common in Arkansas.
Brown recluse spiders are also dangerous to humans, but they are not as common as black widows. Cellar spiders are not dangerous to humans, but they can be a nuisance because of their webs. Wolf spiders are not dangerous to humans either, but they can be troublesome because they often enter homes in search of prey.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Most Common Spiders
If you are in Arkansas you will find many types of spiders there, but only a few are commonly seen. The most common spider in Arkansas is the brown recluse spider. Other common spiders include the black widow, Orchard Orb Weaver, Six-spotted Fishing Spider, Southern Black Widow, Southern House Spider, Spitting Spider, Spotted Orb Weaver, Tan Jumping Spider, Whitebanded Crab Spider, Woodlouse Hunter, Zebra Jumper, Brown Widow Spider, Carolina Wolf Spider, Grass Spiders, Eastern Parson Spider, Gray Wall Jumper, Long Bodied Cellar Spider, Long-legged Sac Spider, Nursery Web Spider, and hobo spiders.
The German brown recluse spider is a light brown color with a dark brown mark on its back. This spider is about 1/2 inch long and is found throughout Arkansas. This spider bites if it feels threatened, but its venom is not typically harmful to humans unless the person bitten has an allergic reaction.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Brown Recluse
The brown recluse, Loxosceles reclusa, Sicariidae (formerly placed in a family “Loxoscelism”) is a recluse spider with a necrotic venom. Similar Soldoxid spiders occur throughout the world. Brown recluses are one of two spiders with medically significant venom in North America, the other being the black widow. It is thought that there are as many as five to 20 brown recluse bites reported each year for every 100,000 people in the area where they are endemic.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Black Widow
The black widow is found throughout Arkansas. It is black with a red hourglass shape on its abdomen. The black widow is not an aggressive spider, but it will bite if it feels threatened. The bite of a black widow can be painful, but it is not usually fatal.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Wolf Spider
The Wolf Spider is one of the most common spiders in Arkansas. They are large, brown and black spiders that can grow to be up to 2 inches long. Wolf Spiders are not aggressive and will only bite humans if they feel threatened. These spiders are not poisonous to humans but their bites can be painful.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Grass Spider
The Grass Spider, Agelenopsis aperta, is a common spider in Arkansas. It is a member of the funnel weaver family and is frequently seen in gardens and fields across the state. The grass spider is a non-biting spider that preys upon insects. It spinning distinctive, circular webs with a hole in the center. These spiders are generally harmless to humans and are not known to cause any medical problems.
Spiders in Arkansas: The House Spider
House spiders are the most common spiders in Arkansas. They are found in all parts of the state, but are more common in the southern and eastern parts. These spiders usually build their webs in warm, sheltered places, such as in attics, basements, and closets. They are often found near windows and doors.
House spiders are not dangerous to humans, but they can be a nuisance. They can bite if they feel threatened, but their bites are not poisonous. If you see a house spider in your home, you can remove it with a vacuum cleaner or by carefully placing it in a jar and releasing it outdoors.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Huntsman Spider
The Huntsman Spider is one of the most common spiders in Arkansas. It is a large, dark spider with long legs and a large body. It is not poisonous to humans, but can be aggressive if disturbed. Huntsman spiders are nocturnal hunters and live in dark places during the day. They are often found in basements, attics, and garages.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Fishing Spider
The Fishing Spider, or black and yellow garden spider, is found in nearly every county in Arkansas. It ranges in size from 1/2-inch to 1 1/2-inches long and is dark brown to black in color with yellow stripes on its abdomen. The fishing spider is a timid creature that will only bite if provoked, and its venom is not considered dangerous to humans. This spider is often found near water sources, such as ponds and streams, where it hunts for small fish, amphibians, and insects.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Garden Spider
The Garden Spider is one of the most common spiders in Arkansas. It is a black and yellow spider that is often found in gardens, on trees, or on buildings. The Garden Spider is not harmful to humans and is actually considered to be beneficial because it eats harmful insects.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Long Bodied Cellar Spider
The long bodied cellar spider is a common household spider that can be found in the Arkansas. This spider is known for its long, thin body and its web spinning abilities.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Eastern Parson Spider
Contrary to its name, the Eastern Parson Spider is one of our most common spiders in Arkansas. The parson spider has a natural habitat in places such as under rocks, logs or even trash cans. The female parson spider is larger than the male and they can be identified by their colors. Both the male and female have a black upper body with a white stripe down the center of their abdomens.
The male’s white stripe is broken into two stripes and the female’s white stripe is solid. The parson spider is a non-aggressive spider that will not bite unless provoked. The good thing about this particular species of spider is that it does not spin webs; instead, it hunts other insects for food, making it less likely to come into contact with humans. If you do find a specimen in your home, try to leave it alone because the venom from this spider is not harmful to humans.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Long-legged Sac Spider
The long-legged sac spider is named for the distinctive thin silky sac it weaves around its abdomen, which is drenched with a pungent odor. The sac spiders’ habitats are usually outdoors, but they can find their way into your house through cracks and crevices. These spiders like to hide under cardboard boxes and other objects that give them a good vantage point from which to watch for prey.
When long-legged sac spiders are confronted, they may rear up and wave their forelegs in the air. Males search for females during warm summer nights by wandering about on foliage and tall grasses. They have been known to bite people if handled, but their venom is not considered dangerous to humans.
Spiders in Arkansas: Spotted Orb Weaver
The Spotted Orb Weaver is an arachnid native to Arkansas. It is about a half-inch in size and is brown with yellow spots. It can be found on the side of buildings, curtains, or plants. They are most commonly seen in June, July, and August. They live up to three years and have been known to eat insects such as flies, mosquitoes, bugs, beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers and crickets.
Many people think Spotted Orb Weavers are dangerous because they have long legs that could deliver a painful bite to humans. However, they usually do not bite people unless threatened or provoked. If you find one indoors or on your clothing it may be best to leave it alone if you aren’t sure what kind of spider it is. Most spiders also will not bite unless they feel threatened or trapped so if you spot one outside try not to mess with them.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Long Bodied Cellar Spider
The Long-Bodied Cellar Spider (Pholcus phalangioides) is a common species of spider found throughout the United States. It’s also known as the Phalangium or Pholcid Spider due to its close relation to the Harvestmen (Opiliones). These spiders are nocturnal, and like most other spiders, they molt their exoskeleton as they grow.
The Long-Bodied Cellar Spider is a long-bodied spider that can reach up to 2 inches in length when mature. They have eight eyes arranged in two rows of four each, with two large eyes at the front of each row. These eyes are very sensitive to light, which helps them see at night when they hunt for food.
The Long-Bodied Cellar Spider has a dark brown color with small white dots on its back that resemble freckles. The abdomen may also have some darker stripes running down it, but these markings are more subtle than those on other cellar spiders.
Spiders in Arkansas: The Tan Jumping Spider
The Tan Jumping Spider is a common spider found in Arkansas. It is a member of the family Salticidae, or jumping spiders. They are small, with a body length of just over 1/8 inch. The females are larger than the males, but both have very long front legs and large eyes.
The Tan Jumping Spider is cream to light brown in color with darker markings on the cephalothorax and abdomen. The legs are brown with darker bands around them. The most distinctive feature of this spider is its eye pattern, which consists of two large eyes facing forward and two smaller eyes facing sideways.
The Tan Jumping Spider builds a silken retreat in which it rests during the day. This retreat may be located under rocks, inside logs or stumps, under bark or other debris on the ground, or even inside buildings. If you have a lot of leaves on your property, look for these retreats under loose leaves that have accumulated on the ground. You might not see them at first glance because they blend in perfectly with their surroundings!
The Tan Jumping Spider eats ants and other insects that live on plants or above ground level such as flies and beetles
