Spiders in the Western Virginia Region

Hundreds of species of spiders live and thrive in North America. Home to many of these spider types, Western Virginia has a temperate climate and diverse geography that make it an excellent home to many different kinds of spider species. Though composing an exhaustive list of all distinct spider types would be an impossible task, the types of spiders found in Western Virginia fall into several distinct groupings.

  1. Orb Weavers

    • Orb spiders are part of one of the most common grouping of spiders in North America. As a group, they are identifiable by the circular webs they weave and use to hunt. Orb spiders are common throughout the United States, including Western Virginia. Some specific members of the orb spider group found in Western Virginia include long-jawed orb weavers, hackled orb weavers and cross orb weavers.

    Jumping Spiders

    • Named for their favored mode of getting around and hunting, jumping spiders rarely use webs to capture their prey, preferring instead to pounce and jump on unsuspecting insects. Though they don't use webs to hunt, jumping spiders do use web structures for protection when they are not hunting. Additionally, jumping spiders often trail a thin thread of web behind them to use to escape dangerous situations. Some common jumpers found in Western Virginia include the bold jumping spider, the magnolia jumper and the zebra jumper.

    Funnel Web Weavers

    • Funnel web weavers build large, funnel-like webs in low grassland areas. They do not stalk prey like jumping spiders, preferring the ambush-style attack of other web-dependent spiders such as the orb weavers. Unlike that of orb spiders, however, the web of funnel weavers is not sticky. Instead, it provides a hiding spot in which the spiders can lay in wait. Funnel web weavers are commonly referred to as grass spiders, which are quite common throughout both the grasslands and forested areas of Western Virginia.

    Wolf and Nursery Spiders

    • Wolf and nursery web spiders tend not to produce webs at all, except to construct and build egg sacs they carry around on their backs. Instead, wolf and nursery spiders stalk prey like wolves, moving and capturing prey with their powerful legs. The designation "wolf spider" refers not only to the grouping but also to individual spider types within that group.

    Cobweb Spiders

    • Known for their wispy and irregularly shaped webs, cobweb spiders use their webs to tangle prey momentarily before they can quickly approach the trapped prey, inject it with venom and wrap it up in more silk. Nearly all cobweb spiders are poisonous. Common cobweb spiders found in Western Virginia include the common house spider and the black widow spider.