How to Identify a Yellow Spider

There are thousands of different types of spiders, which can make it difficult to accurately identify what a specific spider type is. If you locate a yellow spider in your garden, it can be helpful to observe the spider to identify some of its main features. Knowing what these features look like can help you identify the spider more accurately.

Things You'll Need

  • Magnifying glass
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Instructions

    • 1

      Inspect the legs. Crab spiders tend to have longer front legs than back legs. Recluse spiders tend to have thicker legs with darker joints. Garden spiders tend to have shinier legs that are a solid color. Orb weaver spiders tend to have legs that will stretch out into an "X" pattern.

    • 2

      Inspect the coloration. Yellow crab spiders tend to be bright yellow with black accents. Recluse spiders tend to be a more muted yellow-brown. Garden spiders tend to be a solid lemon yellow, while yellow orb weaver spiders tend to be black with yellow accents.

    • 3

      Inspect the body shape. Crab spiders tend to have a flat, bulbous abdomen that resembles a sea crab. Recluse spiders tend to have a flat thorax and oblong abdomen. Garden spiders will have a large, bulbous abdomen that dwarfs their thorax, and orb weavers often have an enlarged thorax and smaller oblong abdomens.

    • 4

      Inspect for specific identifiers. Some spiders are highly poisonous and have widely recognized identifiers. The brown recluse spider will have a fiddle shape on its thorax. The orb weaver spider will have variegated legs. A large garden spider can have spikes protruding from its enlarged abdomen.