Interested in the Northern California’s spiders? Learn more about the many spiders in Northern California…
You’d be surprised to know that there are more than 50,000 species of spiders across the world. However, as is widely believed it is not easy to identify most of the spiders simply from the markings prevalent on their bodies. Trying to identify the spiders simply on the basis of its coloring is like identifying a car model according to the color. That is how unique and different spiders are.
Most of the spiders that are located in Northern California are not considered dangerous. However, there are some people who are allergic to the spider bites and they may be in trouble. There are a few dangerous spiders, one of which is known as the Brown Recluse. However, this and other dangerous spiders are rarely found in Northern California regardless of the stories that go around. Why not start exploring the backyard to learn more about them? In order to identify the spiders you require a magnifying glass.
How to identify Northern California spiders
In order to identify spiders you need a magnifying glass. For the brown recluse spider you must count its eyes. Most of the southern California spiders have a total of eight eyes spread out in two rows. However, the brown recluse spider has only six eyes which are set in pairs.
You can also check the color and pattern, but this cannot be the only consideration to identify spiders in Southern California. Some of the young spiders do not carry any color or pattern that is identifiable. However, it is important to know that the brown recluse spider has a violin shape. This is not the color pattern on their body but in fact the shape of their cephalothorax or abdomen.
The Spitting Spider
This looks similar to the brown recluse spider because it also has six eyes. However, this nonpoisonous spider has black stripes across its body. If you observe the violin pattern then you will find out that most of the spiders that are nonpoisonous have a slightly noticeable violin pattern.
For the Daddy Longlegs spiders you can count the major body parts. These have a single body compared to the spiders whose bodies are divided into two separate sections. Furthermore, the Daddy Long Legs cannot spin webs and does not have venom glands. In fact the Black Widow spiders have exceptionally dangerous venom glands and are not fond of humans. If you leave it alone it might leave you alone, but if it is prodded to aggression then it can become vicious and deadly.
For a spider to be deadly or harmful, the size is not generally a consideration. The Californian desert-based Tarantulas are exceptionally large but carry the same amount of poison as regular spiders. Most spider bites are misdiagnosed. Unless you’ve captured the spider while it is biting you it is commonly believed that the skin lesion is not a spider bite, and may have been acquired from other insects. The underlying precept is that if a spider does not have a violin shaped abdomen and six eyes then it is not a poisonous spider.
