Fortunately for the people of Arkansas, a few people have been interested in the types of spiders in Arkansas for over fifty years. Currently, the 2021, An Updated Checklist of the Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Arkansas serves as the standard. It’s a fairly comprehensive assessment that includes reviewing various past collections from around the state along with ongoing surveys in Arkansas six different physiographic regions:
- Ozark Mountains
- Arkansas Valley
- Ouachita Mountains
- West Gulf Coastal Plain
- Mississippi Alluvial Plain
- Crowley’s Ridge
A total of 510 species of spiders representing 43 families and 215 genera are herein reported from Arkansas. The most diverse families of state spiders were Salticidae (64 species), Lycosidae (59 species), Araneidae (55 species), and Gnaphosidae (54 species).
In common language the top Arkansas spiders in diversity are:
- Jumping Spiders
- Wolf Spiders
- Orb Weavers
- Ground Spiders
Crab Spiders
Green Crab Spider
While eye patterns matter, the best initial field identification guide for the White-banded Crab Spider is to look below the eyes. Typically the presence of a white band, as shown in the picture, is clearly seen.
Synema parvulum also fits the drab body pattern of the previous species. The distinct darkening of the end of the abdomen makes it an easy to Southeast and Mid-Atlantic species.
Female Metallic Crab Spider
Males Metallic Crab Spiders
Lynx Spiders
Their unmistakable look of the Green Lynx spider makes for easy ID.
A few species of the brown form of Lynx spiders are common in lawns and gardens a bit further north. The Western Lynx spider also prefers to spend the day on low growing plants and bushes. Its small size means it could easily be mistaken for a jumping spider.
The Striped Lynx range extends across most of the United States.
Orb Weaving Spiders
The colorful Red-spotted Orb Weaver Araneus has a tendency to build its web at the top of trees and hunt at night.
The red-backed orbweaver. (Araneus guttulatus) also has nice green legs. It can be found in the East from Canada to the Gulf Coast states.
Barn Spider
Lattice Orbweavers
Araneus pegnia, a small and common Southeast and Southwest spider, shows a unique pattern on the abdomen.
The Furrow Orbweaver body looks kind of shiny. The pattern on the body can change but the darker edges are a good Identification clue. It’s mostly an East Coast species.
Humpbacked Orbweaver inhabit areas east of the Rocky Mountains.
Stripes down the abdomen identifies the Difoliate Orbweaver.
Jumping Spiders
ns
Translucent green Jumping Spider
Colonus sylvanus
Colonus peuperus
Hentzia mitrata
Phidippus princeps, sometimes called the grayish jumper, is a common eastern species. Bugguide lists ten different versions of the species as the males and females move to maturity. This is the mature male.
Dimorphic Jumping Spider
Pike Slender Jumper
Thin-spined jumping spider
Cardinal Jumping Spider – Southeast
Phidippus mystaceus are an interesting Southeast species with a variety of looks.
Phidippus Clarus
Phidippus pius female
Male Phidippus pius
Phidippus princeps, sometimes called the grayish jumper, is a common eastern species. Bugguide lists ten different versions of the species as the males and females move to maturity. This is the mature male.
Phiddippus asotus provides an additional demonstration of Phidippus without red in the body. It has no common name and can be found in the Southwest from February through November.
Now take a look at the common White-cheeked Jumping spider ( Pelegrina proterva) and, well, you get the point, similar looking and different genera species. They are common in the East. Males have the dark body.
Females have the light body.
Twenty six different Pelegrina jumping spiders have been identified in the United States. Along the the Common White-cheeked jumping spider, the Peppered Jumping spider is one of the most common jumping spiders in the east.
Males have dark bodies with the picture highlighting the white spots peppered all over it, including the legs.
Here’s the female.
Including the Hammerjawed Jumping spider (Zygoballus rufipes) in the look alike category makes it an A-Z jumping spider group. They are another very common eastern species, so it’s easy to see how beginning enthusiasts might get confused with identification.
Female Hammer-jawed Jumping Spider
Finally, speaking of dull looking jumping spiders, here’s the Twin-flagged jumping spider (Anasaitis canosa), a Southern species.
The Tan jumping spider (Platycryptus undatus) is the dominant Eastern species.
Arkansas Spiders: Tarantulas
Are there tarantulas in Arkansas? Fast forward fifty years and discover the answer is yes. From the article, Distribution and Taxonomic Status of Tarantulas in Arkansas (Theraphosidae: Aphonopelma) in the Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 62 , Article 17.
The genus Aphonopelma (Theraphosidae) is marked by a dearth of distributional data and a problematic taxonomy. To develop occurrence information for the genus in Arkansas, I conducted a citizen-science based survey augmented by field work and examination of museum collections. Results of these efforts yielded a significant amount of data that enabled the construction of a county level map of Aphonopelma distribution in Arkansas; a resource hitherto unavailable. Three Aphonopelma species have been described as occurring in Arkansas: A. baergi, A. hentzi, and A. odelli.
Extending the research on Arkansas spiders to the broader Arachnid class includes the ticks. Arkansas also covers ticks and discover that ticks literally cover many parts of Arkansas. From the 2016 article, The Ticks (Arachnida: Acari: Ixodida) of Arkansas in the Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 70 , Article 25.
We report a total of 3 argasid (soft tick) species and 16 ixodid (hard tick) species from 35 of 75 (47%) counties of Arkansas (Fig. 1). One of these, reported from the species, extirpated from Arkansas, whereas an additional species, been expanding its range into this state.