Spiders of the Everglades

spidersSpiders can be found anywhere on Earth, but most people prefer that these creepy crawlers be outside far away. In the Everglades, there are thousands upon thousands spread across the 1.5 million acres of wetlands. To be more exact, there are around 20,000 spiders per acre of land in the Everglades. Most of these spiders are so small, you cannot see them. Being such a warm climate, spiders enjoy and thrive in Southern Florida. While exploring the Everglades, people often get a glimpse of spiders on their webs.

Some of the Everglades spiders are native to Florida, while others have made their way to the state on ships, airplanes, and other animals. Some of these spiders make webs in the trees, while others hide and live under leaves and brush on the wetland floor. These eight-legged creatures might not be the most pleasant to look at, but they are essential to the Everglades’ ecosystem; they are both a prey and a predator. They eat a lot of insects, which in turn controls the population of that insect.

Below are some of the types of spiders you can spot while visiting the Everglades:

Banana Spider – This spider is an orb-weaving spider. They feed on mosquitoes, bees, butterflies, flies, small moths, and wasps. This spider is also known as a gold silk spider, because of the color of the silk of their webs. They love high humidity. The female banana spider is one of the largest orb weavers in America (around three inches long). The female has tufts of hair on each leg and can be yellow, white, orange and brown on its body. The males are dark brown in color. The female will spin a strong, three-foot-wide web. The banana spider is not aggressive and its bite is harmless to humans.

Red Widow Spider – The red widow spider gets its name from its reddish color of its head and legs; its abdomen is black. This is a venomous spider. According to the University of Missouri, no bites from this particular spider have ever been recorded. Very little is actually known about this spider’s venom. Female red widow spiders are a ½ inch in size and male spiders are about 1/3 of the size of the female. This spider can be found in the pine scrub habitat, which is found on sandy ridges in central and southeastern Florida. It builds its web on palmetto leaves. The primary prey of this spider is the scarab beetle.

Wolf Spider – Wolf spiders are large spiders ranging from ¼ of an inch to over an inch in size. They are usually brown, gray, black or tan, with dark markings and stripes on their bodies. Their coloring is a form of camouflage, because they do not catch their prey on a web, but they hunt their food. They have excellent night vision and are very fast; they hunt for insects at night. They mainly live on the ground. Wolf spiders don’t bite humans, unless threatened, and their venom isn’t harmful.

Brown Recluse Spider – This spider is one of the most poisonous spiders in the Everglades. These spiders are found across the world, but are most common in tropical climates. They are not native to Florida. This spider is considered a medium-sized spider and around the size of a quarter. Although they make webs, recluse spiders often wander to look for their food, such as cockroaches and other insects. A brown recluse spider will not bite a human unless it’s trapped up against the person’s skin (rolling onto a spider, or putting on clothes that the spider has crawled into). People react differently to a brown recluse bite, but the venom can cause necrosis, loss of limb, and death.

Crab Spider – A crab spider gets its name, because it holds their legs to its sides like a crab does; they also scuttle sideways like a crab. They can range in size from less than ½ inch to one inch. This spider does not spin a web, but lives on the ground. It prefers to ambush its prey, and its brown, black and gray colorings allow it to blend in with the environment. They bite their prey and suck it dry. Their bite isn’t harmful to humans.

Viewing the Spiders
Whether you find them beautiful or terrifying, spiders are a significant part of the Everglade’s ecosystem. Grab a ride on an airboat to try and catch a glimpse of one of these arachnids sitting on its web. To book an airboat tour, visit Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours here or call 239-695-3377.