• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

HUGE Black and White Spider-please help id

I

iguanamom

New member
Joined
Oct 17, 2005
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
San Antonio TX
Hello, I'm hoping someone can help ID this spider without a picture. Think she hitched a ride from a road cut while hunting fossils in central TX. Found her in my car the next day.
DESCRIPTION: HUGE black body (no hair) with white specks, possibly other colors, but it looked like irregular white dots like a paintbrush had been dripped on her.
Legs were jet black and pointy.
Didn't notice the underside as i was too busy screaming.
WEB: When opening the car door, she had started a web in the corner of the door so when i opened it I heard this CRACKLING sound like bacon frying...the web was LOUD for some reason. Strong, too.
Noticed that the single thread from when she walked around had the thread then a couple inches later a dot of thicker thread and so on (not sure if that helps).
SIZE: fat body was at LEAST 1" in diameter if not more. With legs almost 3" if not more.

So intelligent me, i put her in the bush in my front yard and haven't seen her since. With my luck she'll have babies and my house will be engulfed.

This is NOT a tarantula...i know for sure what they look like. I could not find any pictures on the net that resembled her. The only thing that comes close is a black widow, but it said they only get to be an inch or so, but that's kind of what the body looked like. Just BIGGER.

This is driving me nuts...any help is greatly appreciated!!
 
Sounds like an almost mature Black Widow. They do go through a black and white stage and have just about the strongest web for their size of any spider.
 
Nope...not quite

This one was super big...that picture looks like a tiny spider. She was almost shiny and big white blobs on the rear. She was so big that when she dropped to the ground it sounded like a walnut. Very defined body, like there was some space between the head and the body...it didn't seem to all mesh together closely. Do widows get to be at least 3" in diameter (including legs)??
 
Look up a member, his user ID is Tarantulakeeper. Just do a member search for his name and email or PM him and I'm sure he'll know what it is.

He's one of those weird arachnoid guys but really knows his stuff.
 
Dave, no pic ??? ahhh well
lessee now ..no hair so it is not a jumping spider. This is the time of year countrywide that the orb weavers leave the webs to make a sac.Sounds like an araneus species maybe quadrivitatus but not sure. Pretty sure it is not be a widow the max on them with leg span is around 2", but who knows.
Tsrong webs are characteristic of widow's and most orb weavers.
man I want to know what it is now...where you let it go it will leave a trail web that might be hard to find but it is followable. That is how I cought back my nephila that got loose..
peace
 
Tell me about it! This is driving me nuts! I've looked around each day and haven't been able to see a web or spider anywhere. Checking the internet somene else from san antonio posted on a similar spider but that forum didn't know either. I've scoured google and picture after picture of spiders and still haven't seen anything close. I may go to a bookstore and look through some books.

I popped in 'quadrivitatus' but it comes back with relation to chipmunks? I looked up araneus and the white spots on the ones i've seen are somewhat symmetrical...not 'random' or splattery looking.

Well if you come up with anything, please post back...and if i catch the sucker, i'll be sure to take a picture and try to solve this once and for all! Thanks for the input!
 
something like this?
widow15oct04a_small.jpg
 
Back
Top