Wisconsin Spiders - Green Nature

Filmy Dome spider

Filmy Dome Spider

Welcome to Wisconsin spiders. An article entitled The Spider Species of the Great Lakes States does an excellent jobs listing and comparing Wisconsin spiders with the spiders of its Great Lakes neighbors. At the time of the study some 900 species were documented with Wisconsin spiders total at 479 species. Close to sixty percent of the documented spiders fit into five families:

Sheetweb Spiders (24%)
Jumping Spiders (10.3%)
Cobweb Spiders (8.9%)
Wolf Spiders (8.8%)
Orbweavers (7.7%)

Like all states Dwarf and Sheetweb spiders rank close to the top of the list in terms of number of species. Size explains most of their anonymity. Most are 1/16 of an inch or less, making them practically invisible to the human eye. The Filmy Dome spider pictured at the top of the page is one of the few exceptions to the small Sheetweb spiders rule of thumb.

This introduction to Wisconsin spiders highlights the more common residential spiders.

Lynx Spiders

Striped Lynx Spider Eyes

Lynx spiders can be abundant in residential areas. The following pictures might help with ID.

top view of a Striped Lynx Spider

Striped Lynx Spider top

Western Lynx Spider Eyes

Western Lynx Spider Female

Western Lynx Spider Juvenile

Western Lynx Spider Male

Orb Weaving Spiders

Zygiella x-notata

Some, but not all of the orb weaving spiders in the state have a geographical range that extends across the norther parts of the United States, from east to west. Some of the species also come in a range of colors.

Here’s a few of the more common species with a wider geographical range. See See here for more detail.

Yellow writing spider bottom view

Yellow Writing Spider bottom view

Yellow writing spider top view

Yellow Writing Spider top view

Banded Writing Spider

Cross Orb Weaving Spider

nordmanni

Araneus nordmanni

trash-line-orbweaver

Trashline Orb Weaver

Gray Cross Spider

Larinioides patagiatus

Larinioides patagiatus orange shade

Larinioides patagiatus

Larinioides patagiatus brown shade

Larinioides patagiatus bottom view

Larinioides patagiatus bottom

Sleeping Orb Weaving Spider

long-jawed

Long-jawed Orb Weaver

long-jawed-side

Long-jawed Orb Weaver side view

Crab Spiders

Flower Crab Spider

It’s sometimes difficult to identify Crab Spiders using body color. Body hair and eye configuration can help. Here’s a few examples.

Flower Crab Spider yellow

northern-crab-spider-yellow-red

Yellow and Red Northern Crab Spider

Northern Crab Spider white

Northern Crab Spider yellow

Swift Crab Spider

Slender Crab Spider

Ground Crab Spider

Jumping Spiders

Bold Jumping Spider

A couple hundred jumping spider species inhabit residential areas, many with limited ranges. Body color can change over the course of time, as with the species presented here. See Jumping Spiders for more complete information.

Bold Jumping Spider