Spider Identification Tool - Is the spider in a particular web or burrow, or hiding or running free

Often web type and location give you a clue to  broad identity, but ones found hiding or wandering around in the evening may still be web types that hide in the day or males looking for a mate (that's life!). Click on blue hyperlinks below for relevant spider images and information.

​1 SPIDERS HIDING OR HUNTING IN FOLIAGE DURING THE DAY

• Orb web spiders that build webs at night, eat them each morning and hide during the day in a retreat: Eriophera  and Araneus sp. (Garden orb weavers), Backobourkia sp (Desert orb weavers); Dolophones (Wrap-around spiders).
• Crab and Lynx spiders
• Bird dropping spider
• Jumping spiders​​​

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​2 SPIDERS IN A BURROW

3 SPIDERS WANDERING AROUND OR HIDING ON OR UNDER THE TRUNK, BARK OR STONES  (may be in dense round or sac-like resting webs)

• Trapdoor spider males or Red and Black spider males looking for a mate at night
• Wolf spiders and spiders with a similar shape
• Huntsman spiders and spiders with a similar shape
• White-tail spiders and spiders with a similar shape
• Jumping spiders.​

Spiral web of thin sticky silk strands

4 ORB WEBS: mainly vertical webs that spiral outward on thin  strands like spokes on a wheel.
These include:​

• Spiders that remain on the web during the day: Nephila edulis (Golden orb weaver) ; Genus    Austricantha (Christmas Spider); Plebs. (Garden or bush orb weavers); Cyclosa . (Garbage line spiders); Argiope (St Andrews Cross and Teardrop spiders); Phonognantha . (Leaf-curling Spider).
•  Spiders that build webs at night, eat them each morning and hide during the day in a retreat: Eriophera  and Araneus sp. (Garden orb weavers), Backobourkia sp (Desert Orb Weavers); Dolophones (Wrap-around Spiders)

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5 TANGLE WEB SPIDERS :Sticky messy webs containing a spider in corners, shelves, pots etc at home or under logs, rocks or debris in the bush.
Spider types include

• Daddy longlegs - mostly introduced species around the house.
• Comb-footed/Cobweb spiders (family Theridiidae)  that are generally small with a bulbous abdomen like the Redback Spider.

6 TENT WEB SPIDERS:  tangled web above a horizontal tent-like base

7 SHEET WEBS AND WEBS WITH A CONICAL RETREAT : This category has a mixed bag of spiders

Horizontal sheet web conical retreat

Miturga false wolf spider resting web near the ground in a rush. Entrance not conical.

Black house spider ,messy web with a conical retreat

Small flat web: Wall spider

Social bebbing spider, conical retreat and a triangular messy web

Social webbing spider community web