October 31, 2013
This post details some of our common spider species here in San Diego.
Spiders are an integral part of our ecosystem – so much so that it’s estimated that they consume as much animal food as all the humans on Earth. So to imagine life without them, we would – quite literally! – be overrun with insects.
In my experience, we have a few common “favorites” here, some of which I’ve quite enjoyed photographing. Let’s start with one of the cutest spiders, the red-backer jumper, not to be confused with what the ridiculous Brits call a sweater.
Jumping spiders are interesting ambush hunters. Their jumping ability is legendary and they appear to not only have a “cute” face, but also a curious nature.
I’ve also captured gold-colored jumpers outside, sometimes hiding under the lip of the rubbish bin in the hopes of capturing an insect unaware.
Another spider you will see with frequency is the black widow. Honestly I used to see a heck of a lot more brown widows, but I guess I never had a camera handy. Everyone knows about black widows, but the thing to remember about them is their timidity. Leave them alone and they will likely leave you alone.
Next up is the delightful tarantula.
You may see a mouse spider in your house or outside:
Finally, we see the garden-variety (see what I did there?) orb weavers, or “garden spiders.”
They may look big and scary because when we see large spiders or bright colors, we tend to think, “DANGER.” But these spiders definitely won’t hurt you, as you’re much too big to be on their menu.
Just don’t Google “orb weaver eating bird” or anything – those are Amazonian orb weavers and they are crazy!
Keep an eye our for our beautiful local spiders. Thanks for looking! xo
