HI! I hope someone can help me ID a spider I saw yesterday. I will do the best I can w/the description.

In Southern California, North of LA... close to the ocean. The web was "normal" looking, your average spider web, like the one in "Charlotte's Web". No sticky residue or anything out of the ordinary. It spanned about a foot in diameter. It ran from a hedge to the ground.

The spider was very lare (not as large as a tarantula, but LARGE). It was approximately 1 inch from leg to leg, brown, visible hair on body and legs. The most distiguishing characteristic; on it's belly, which was very light brown, was distinctive black marking. Amost like a small rectangle, but with a border on top and bottom.

The spider looked to be repairing it's web when I observed it. The web was in place, but there were holes, and it was fixing them.

Thank you for your help!
Most Sincerely,
Rebecca Featherston

This site requests spider specimen identifications for research purposes.


Entomology - Spiders and other Arachnids - Spider myths. "Brown Widow Spiders in Southern California" The spider (Latrodectus geometricus) is real, and new, but the threat is far exaggerated...
http://spiders.ucr.edu/