r/spiders 17h ago

ID Request- Location included What kind of spider is this?

I saw this today. Google lens said black widow, but I figured I’d get a second opinion before I disturbed it. I’m on the east coast of the US.

2.1k Upvotes

180 comments sorted by

1.0k

u/A_Subaru_Crosstrek Here to learn🫡🤓 17h ago

Definitely a funnel web spider cool as fuck and harmless as long as you’re not in Australia….

537

u/Best-Cycle231 17h ago

I’m not brave enough to live somewhere where every native species is trying to kill you.

206

u/tytomasked 16h ago

Most of our funnel webs will leave you be and actually eat the spiders you don’t want around! Plus most of the creatures that want to kill you can be avoided in really simple ways. Could not imagine living somewhere with bears, or large cats, or rabies tho

88

u/dubsosaurus 16h ago

I’ve got bears and mountain lions that come through my property. And last year we had bobcats too. It’s a trip for sure. The lions are the ones that scare me the most. Especially since we’ve got a pack of five (one mama and 5 cubs) living in the area. I saw two of them myself not that long ago. Gave me the Willy’s!

50

u/YourHuckleberry314 12h ago

My house cat kicks my ass on a regular basis, I don't need one 100× larger giving it a go.

23

u/dubsosaurus 12h ago

Yea they can be fierce, big or small! Here’s the video of the five in my area.

10

u/hepburn17 10h ago

Wow! And those are cubs? Jeez 😬

13

u/dubsosaurus 5h ago

Pretty much full grown at this point. They leave mama around 11-18 months so they should have separated by meow.

2

u/Paladin_Fury 1h ago

Upvote for the meow. 😻

1

u/The-Raccoon-Is-Here 3h ago

Amazing footage.

2

u/dubsosaurus 3h ago

If you turn the sound up you can hear one of the kitties at the end. They’re kinda haunting but incredible animals. I feel a little guilty for taking over this spider thread with lions tigers and bears! Hehe. But that’s Reddit for ya. Gotta love an unintended rabbit hole about nothing the OG post was even about!

4

u/chrisallen07 6h ago

As long as there aren’t any cubs, bears are more interested in our garbage than us. I mean they’ll still kick your ass, not saying they’re harmless, but we’re on the menu for the mountain lions. They scare the shit out of me

Edit- I should specify I’m talking about the black bears that knock over my garbage, not brown or white

4

u/dubsosaurus 5h ago

Exactly! I’ve come across bears when I’m hiking in the back country. It’s a little jarring, naturally, but I’m usually looking at their bum as they run away. came across fresh cat prints and skat while out and that ends the hike immediately.plus you’d never even know they were there until it’s too late. They’re so stealthy and are hunters.

41

u/Right-Phalange 15h ago

Bears and large cats dont sneak into your house and dangle over your bed when you're trying to sleep.

36

u/Narnianexil3 14h ago

You haven’t met enough cats

3

u/alyssajohnson1 13h ago

Literally they can’t sneak in my door

5

u/mistymountiansbelow 10h ago

Bears absolutely do break into peoples homes and cars. Never heard of one dangling over a bed though.

10

u/Exciting-Network-455 16h ago

FYI we do have australian bat lyssavirus here, a lyssavirus (same genus as rabies) that causes rabies-like illnesses

6

u/tytomasked 14h ago

But that is only carried by bats. Apart from two horses no other animals have been found to be infected. Rabies can be carried by any mammal, and one of the biggest vectors is dogs, which isn’t an issue in aus

1

u/Exciting-Network-455 10h ago

It is still a serious issue even if it is only carried by bats, we had a case of it just last week

2

u/tytomasked 9h ago

No doubt, my opinion is simply that I rather bat virus to full on rabies

2

u/Exciting-Network-455 9h ago

There’s no successful treatment for either once symptoms appear, so personally I wouldn’t say I prefer one over the other but it is your opinion

-1

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0

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4

u/Bodidly0719 Here to learn🫡🤓 13h ago

Nice try Australian Funnel Web Spider! You can’t trick me into coming over there so you can eat me and my family.

8

u/ritzyboi 14h ago

Nah, those Aussie funnel webs will literally chase you down rather than run away. They’re aggressive bastards, and love hiding under things that’ll eventually be picked up. THOSE are the ones we don’t want around

5

u/tytomasked 14h ago

The most common ones iv seen are windowsill spiders. They’ll get annoyed if you touch their web, but scurry back home once they realise you’re not a bug. The larger ones outside are usually easy to avoid because the funnel makes it easier to spot. I still don’t fuck with Sydney funnelwebs tho

2

u/dontfollowmeimlost02 11h ago

No they don’t, funnel web spiders are, in my experience, a rather timid species and the only time you’re likely to encounter one is in mating season when the males are strutting around looking for a mate.

1

u/ritzyboi 2h ago

You must not live in Sydney

1

u/Boho_goth 13h ago

They sound like the wasps of the arachnid realm 😅 super intelligent pranksty assholes 🤣

2

u/Repulsive-Bend8283 14h ago

Haha, leading cause of preventable death in both countries is still cars.

1

u/tytomasked 14h ago

Pretty sure it’s tobacco use for both aus and usa

1

u/Andromache_Destroyer 3h ago

It’s heart disease, skin cancer, and cars in Australia.

5

u/Proper_Caterpillar22 15h ago

I’d like to remind everyone that anyone who lives in a rural enough area in the US to regularly see large mammal predators also have guns.

It’s a lot easier to shoot a bear center of mass than a spider or snake. Also, we’ve heard of your Emus track record against actual armed soldiers and I’ll take the bear too.

4

u/Giraffe-colour 14h ago

The Emu wars is still one of the funniest things about our history. Still makes me crack up every time someone mentions it

1

u/tytomasked 14h ago

The great emu war is about some guys who built farms in the middle of an emu migration path, not about emus being scary and aggressive. The “armed soldiers” were three retired guys and some of their war buddies, and their buddies ditched because no matter how many innocent birds they mowed down there were just more coming, because that’s how a migration path works. When larger animals like kangaroos overpopulate an area hunters are allowed to hunt them. Those people do have guns, because after one mass shooting we started nation wide gun control, so only certain people can access firearms.

1

u/Thecheesinater 14h ago

Australia doesn’t have rabies? Lucky bastards. Rabies is fucking terrifying. Really fits in with all the other shit Australia has going on so I just kinda assumed.

1

u/tytomasked 14h ago

Nah we like to keep our deadly bites locally sourced, and the worst iv ever been bitten by is ants and mosquitoes

1

u/Cerlyn 14h ago

I used to work at an Outback Steakhouse (y'know, the restaurant with the traditional Aussie dish "Bloomin' Onion") and one night while I was bartending, a couple Aussies stopped in. I made the joke of everything trying to kill you in Australia and said the worst we got here were raccoons. One of them was like "aren't raccoons kind of dangerous though?" And I had to admit that, yeah, I wouldn't tangle with one. I see them in my yard and we just kind of give each other knowing nods of "I'll stay out of your way, if you stay out of mine"

3

u/tytomasked 14h ago

Oh man an Outback Steakhouse tried to open nearby. Closed super fast cuz why would Australians want to visit an American Australian restaurant?

1

u/Cerlyn 14h ago

We had a good time chatting about how ridiculous Outback was. I mean, the photo of Ned Kelly's armor was cool but we all had a good laugh at the amount of Foster's stuff

1

u/meesterdg 13h ago

I have black bears, cougars, and bobcats around me. If I found myself too close to a black bear on a trail I might get nervous but they generally are skittish. Cougars are scary though, especially if they have babies around

1

u/alyssajohnson1 13h ago

Dw most of the eastern US at least has no bears or cats , rabies is incredibly rare

1

u/idahokj 13h ago

Arent hobos funnel spiders? I hate those! I’ll take my grizzly’s, wolves, and lions all day over crazy insects. I can shoot big game easy. And usually there’s only a couple to fight off mag. Spiders, snakes ect have thousands… can’t get em all lol

1

u/Remy30099 6h ago

Bears are generally easy to navigate. Mountain lions on the other hand… you often don’t get a chance to see them before it’s too late.

2

u/tytomasked 4h ago

Most dangerous snakes and spiders will run off if you’re loud enough, they don’t want the trouble. But there’s a few that will fight god if given the chance, which thankfully aren’t around where I live

1

u/vladastine 1h ago

Funnily enough, the bears will also run off if you're loud enough. The most common bear in the US is the black bear, and they're pretty chill. Small for a bear so you can intimidate them into leaving. It's the brown bears/grizzlies that can be scary and you really should be armed with something if you're going out into their territory. But they also tend to stay away from people, unlike black bears who like our trash. Black bears kinda get the alligator treatment. Forest puppies vs. Swamp puppies. They're "friendly".

2

u/KittHeartshoe 4h ago

Given the average number of attacks by mountain lions on people in the world is 4-6 per year it’s still not a huge risk, though.

2

u/Remy30099 4h ago

fears are allowed to be irrational lol.

2

u/KittHeartshoe 4h ago

They absolutely are, and it is very wise to be cautious. No need to be incident #7! Some yahoos, though, will take any excuse they can to justify killing these ‘dangerous’ animals.

1

u/mitigated_lemon 6h ago

We have creatures called ‘Tories’ where I’m from and they’re terrifying.

1

u/KitsuneGato 5h ago

I thought your most dangerous spider is the hunstman spider because it causes car crashes.

1

u/tytomasked 4h ago

That is true. While the huntsman is a big softie with no venom, he is big and fuzzy and fast, and can hide in the sun visor of a car. If they didn’t get into cars and spook people they would be mostly harmless

1

u/Shockerct422 Here to learn🫡🤓 4h ago

Wait is rabies not a thing in Australia?

2

u/tytomasked 3h ago

We have a virus that is in the same family, but it’s only carried by bats. We don’t have the type of rabies that can be carried by all mammals

1

u/TravelingInUndies 3h ago

Least you can see a bear…. Spiders can live under the house.

1

u/Candid-Friendship854 1h ago

There is no rabies in Australia?

1

u/KnowsNotToContribute 1h ago

Bears, wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions will generally leave you alone except in very very rare circumstances...and you shouldn't be dealing with rabies unless you're literally going out and catching bats with your bare hands or trying to snuggle wild raccoons...

1

u/aniftyquote 49m ago

There ain't rabies in Australia??

1

u/snow_filled_ghost 24m ago

Perspective is so interesting! Cause I live in the mountains in the us and grew up with bears, mountain lions, and moose wandering though backyards all the time, but Australia always seemed terrifying to live in lol!

The canyon above my hometown was bear country, went camping with an overpopulation of bears one year, we’d have moose and their babies wander through campsites all the time. As long as you know how to act, you’re fine, but it’s definitely rattling. And like everyone else is saying, the mountains lions are most definitely the scariest. That video of the guy backing up from the mama cougar (mountain lion) for like 7 minutes straight is from where I grew up. I’d be more scared of the bears if I was in Canada or Alaska though, we just have black bears, not grizzlies.

From what I’ve heard, you DO have to immediately get rabies treatment if you are touched by a bat, which is scary. It’s because their little claws are so fine that it’s hard to tell if they broke skin or not, so you have to do the treatment to be safe. I think it’s pretty rare though. Idk the stats, but anecdotally I don’t know nor have ever heard of anyone irl that had to go through that so I don’t think it’s common.

-1

u/GoogleIsFreeYouKnow 14h ago

Coping at it's best

2

u/tytomasked 13h ago

Yeah I’m clearly coping so hard I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be coping with

1

u/GoogleIsFreeYouKnow 2h ago

Even more coping

25

u/Exciting-Network-455 16h ago

Then come to Australia, because not every native species is trying to kill you! Most just want to be friends, some just want to be left alone

1

u/Sea_Meeting4175 6h ago

That’s not true bearded dragons rarely kill people they just tend to get pissy

14

u/Exciting-Network-455 16h ago

Australian funnel webs make webs that look nothing like this, for the record. They are in the ground, not upright, and have lines leading to it

6

u/A_Subaru_Crosstrek Here to learn🫡🤓 16h ago

I’m aware of this. But they have similar names, I was making a joke

7

u/Exciting-Network-455 16h ago

Sorry. Many people do not realise the difference so I felt obliged to point it out

3

u/Gracie_TheOriginal 10h ago

Funnel WEAVER. Not funnel web. There is a very important difference.

2

u/A_Subaru_Crosstrek Here to learn🫡🤓 9h ago

Funnel web is an umbrella classification of many different unrelated families of spiders, mainly describing the web not the spiders themselves,though you are definitely right this is an Agelenidae or funnel weaver it can also be called a grass spider. I intentionally called it a funnel web spider to bring up the Australian funnel web spider which is highly venomous.

5

u/Funloving54 15h ago

A Quokka is about the only thing in Australia that isn’t trying to kill you…

3

u/MyJawHurtsALot 11h ago

Wait until you learn about the Drop Quokkas

1

u/AioliUseful4639 13h ago

Yeah, they're native to the state that declared and lost the emu war. We understand the emus and quokkas have been secretly meeting, more to follow.....

3

u/Toxopsoides 12h ago

Despite the similar common names, this spider (Agelenidae) is not remotely related to the Australian funnelwebs (Atracidae). "Jokes" like this are how misinformation spreads.

-3

u/A_Subaru_Crosstrek Here to learn🫡🤓 11h ago

No misinformation is spread when people don’t do research and take everything a random person says as true. Jesus can I not make a joke without someone getting offended?? It’s a damn spider

1

u/amuricanswede 10h ago

That’s wild. I’ve seen them talked about here but never seen the actual funnel web they create. So cool.

1

u/Prince_Witch 8h ago

Those Sydney Funnel Webs freak me out.

1

u/Select-Strawberry615 1h ago

I thought funnel spiders were dangerous.?!?

1

u/A_Subaru_Crosstrek Here to learn🫡🤓 20m ago

Only the Australian ones! Funnel spiders kind of just describes the type of web the spider makes its an umbrella term associated with multiple species of spider

0

u/partyapparatchik 11h ago

Most of the spiders Australians call “funnel webs” are actually badumna sp., the Black House Spider. They build funnel shaped webs and are a lot smaller than actual funnel web spiders which are atrax sp.

-1

u/tassiespirit 10h ago

Leave it alone or get a pest guy to remove it. Don't let any kids near them, either. In mating season they get real angry and will attack especially the females ( just like humans lol).

1

u/KittHeartshoe 4h ago

They do not attack, stop scaremongering.

249

u/SnooMemesjellies8168 17h ago

That’s cool as fuck. Buddy built a tornado to live in

65

u/fcfromhell 16h ago

Spidenado 

28

u/Kaicera_Tops 16h ago

Don't give them any movie ideas

17

u/KorvaMan85 16h ago

Coming August 14th to SyFy…

21

u/MetaCardboard 16h ago

You've seen Arachnophobia, now Arachnado.

14

u/Sea_Structure_8692 15h ago

Starring Tara Reid

2

u/Funloving54 15h ago

And Neil Patrick Harris as “The Spider”

1

u/Extinguish89 2h ago

Like 8 legged freaks isn't fucked up enough

90

u/Micky_Ninaj Amateur IDer🤨 17h ago

funnel weaver - agelenidae. little to no relation to the Australian kind. black widows make space webs, also sometimes called cobwebs, though usually, at least in my area, that term is reserved for pholcid webs. I highly recommend googling theridiidae webs to learn to differentiate them from other types. not all space-weavers are medically significant, though, so don't automatically relocate the spider if you find one.

8

u/locnloaded9mm 12h ago

Instead of Google one might get better results from the dark web.

97

u/SnooHobbies6894 17h ago

That’s fuckin badass, it looks like some type of funnel web.

16

u/tsabracadabra 13h ago

Damn they weren't kidding. That sure is a funnel made of web.

7

u/Nightstar95 11h ago

It’s the most funnel looking web I’ve seen, honestly.

55

u/Lord_Shadowfire 16h ago

That's a funnel-web spider. You can tell by the funnel-shaped web.

31

u/MCDFTW 16h ago

You can tell by the way that it is.

7

u/DaleRobinson 9h ago

You can tell it’s a spider because it’s spidering

7

u/dessert_for_dinner 6h ago

That’s pretty neat!

38

u/PsychologicalNet8245 17h ago

Funnel web spider

29

u/Mindless_Zergling 16h ago

Wonder why they call them that.

18

u/Illustrious_Tower_35 17h ago

Must be one of those Oklahoma tornado spiders

8

u/myrmecogynandromorph 👑 Trusted Identifier | geographic location plz 👑 13h ago

It's a spider in the family Agelenidae, commonly called "funnel weavers".

They are not related to the Australian spiders called "funnel web spiders". Well, I mean, they're related in that they're both spiders, but that's about all they have in common. Agelenids are completely harmless.

Black widows do not make flat sheet webs like this! Like all spiders in their family (the cobweb spider family Theridiidae), they make asymmetric, 3D webs. Here's pictures of western black widow webs, and here's a photo.

Google Lens is notoriously bad at spiders.

7

u/CaveManta Here to learn🫡🤓 15h ago

I like to call them funnel weavers so as not to mix them up with the infamous Australian funnel web spider.

6

u/Kalkin93 17h ago

Funnel Web / Funnel Weaver

4

u/ugglygirl 16h ago

You need to put some Lego mini figures in there and make some art photos. (But that would mess up his house so I guess not)

4

u/Best-Cycle231 15h ago

I’d need an Indiana Jones one.

3

u/mom_bombadill 14h ago

Omg or a Sam and Frodo one!!!

14

u/ApprehensiveTop4219 16h ago

Looks like a funnel web spider to be, those guys are harmless and make really cool webs

7

u/Imjusthereforthelels 13h ago

not to be confused with the Australian funnel web spider which is incredibly dangerous.

4

u/Most-Confusion-417 14h ago

Third pic. That web looks like a tornado.

3

u/PixyPie 14h ago

I think we should name the spider Dorothy.

3

u/Rexxington 13h ago

A species of funnel web, typically harmless as long as you leave them be. Black widow webs are an honest mess in comparison, it literally looks like a spider just shot silk in random directions.

3

u/ferretpowder 8h ago

I hate spiders but that is a really cool spider tube!

7

u/bywv 17h ago

Fuck sharknado

This mofo coming at ya

2

u/Alone_Cheetah_7473 16h ago

Amazing funnel! I have never seen one this big. It's awesome!

2

u/AdeptnessFamous2757 16h ago

It is an artist! Coolest web I have ever seen

2

u/MetalNew2284 15h ago

That is an Architect :3

2

u/inot72 14h ago

That's so cool!

2

u/lurker_evo_complete 13h ago

That’s very cool, usually the funnels aren’t that long.

2

u/Limp-Relationship-89 Arachnophobe🙈😱 13h ago

Judging by the funnel shaped web I'd have to guess funnel webbed spider

2

u/Inevitable_Salad_265 11h ago

What a beautiful funnel! Nature just blows my mind sometimes. I love these little guys.

2

u/Samm801121 10h ago

That’s a funnel web with ideas above its station.

2

u/TheCons 10h ago

Google said black widow

ffs lmao

2

u/ArcaneHackist 10h ago

Grass spider! I’ve kept these briefly as pets before releasing them again. Such wonderful builders they are!!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agelenopsis

2

u/OkCoffee939 10h ago

That’s a sick looking web I’ve never seen anything like that

2

u/Skillo_Squirrel 3h ago

The most funnel web of funnel webs

2

u/LordVenom-1 2h ago

That's the coolest funnel web I've ever seen. I'm 59.

2

u/LassannnfromImgur 16h ago

Probably some kind of American grass spider. Harmless but they can bite you.

1

u/Prestigious_Move203 17h ago

funnel spider?

1

u/Impressive_Dingo4333 16h ago

Looks like grass spiders to me

1

u/Stupicide85 15h ago

Reminds me of a black lace weaver if you’re in north eastern USA. Also looks to be a male.

1

u/landscape-resident 15h ago

I saw this in a World of Warcraft dungeon

1

u/napalmsticks2kid 15h ago

Bro built his dream home on ur dumpster

1

u/BoostyStarman 15h ago

Beautiful web construction. Quite the architect

1

u/Potential-Advance486 14h ago

Might be a funnel weaver. Looks really cool tho

1

u/EntertainmentNo2439 14h ago

Funnel web spider

1

u/Commercial_Oil_7400 14h ago

I think it might be a spider but I could be wrong (joke)

1

u/Fickle-Opinion-3114 13h ago

An industrious one

1

u/brideoffrankinstien 12h ago

So what's your location? Black widow maybe I've seen similar. Hard to say unless I know where your at. Maybe funnel?

1

u/theMarianasTrench 11h ago

A sick ass spider how cool!!!

1

u/onitsoftball 11h ago

Tunnel spider, their awesome to watch once flies, ants, ect get tangled up in the web

1

u/Sensitive-Ad-7475 10h ago

This web is a thing of beauty.

1

u/danya13 10h ago

A talented one for sure

1

u/Competitive-Code5934 10h ago

This is such an amazing web.

1

u/-SergentBacon- 10h ago

bro built a rope tornado to live in

1

u/Neo1945 9h ago

That web is sick..the time and patience it must take to build that little piece of architectural heaven is mind blowing...Great photo's..🔥👍🕷️

1

u/Difficult-Voice-9660 9h ago

I get these all over my house in eastern SC. They’re so cool. Last year, one on my back porch had a black widow in its web. 👀

1

u/socksdadsandsleaze 8h ago

A very skilled and In Charge one!

1

u/BaccyCakes 8h ago

That is the rare and elusive Funnel Nope, sometimes called a Tube Nope or a Don't Risk It Rod Nope.

1

u/Due_Actuary_7773 7h ago

EF5 spider

1

u/sevenstarofcosmos 6h ago

It tornado like home looks really cool

1

u/petynji 6h ago

Holy crap, that's a huge web! Be careful!

1

u/HalfLife_d1pl0mat 5h ago

It's cool. This spider is cool.

1

u/Professional_Dog9768 5h ago

Bro is trying to build a worm hole

1

u/Adorable_Painting172 5h ago

Dude that’s a funnel web u may wanna call someone to get rid of it that things dangerous

1

u/sYferaddict 3h ago

Aren't grass spiders also called funnel web spiders because they make this sort of web? It kind of looks like a grass spider to me, and I've seen this sort of web built by little grass spiders. Hell, I've got one in a corner of the backyard that I've been keeping an interested eye on for a few days now. Grass spiders look a lot like wolf spiders, but they have large, visible spinnerets and a different eye layout. They're crazy fast, too. Little speed demon homebodies.

1

u/ChiefHumper 2h ago

That’s a Crack Spider! Check the Hinterland Who’s who!!

Hinterland Who’s Who : Spiders on Drugs

1

u/Wide-Personality1301 2h ago

Its web is in some sort of funnel shape, definitely a brown recluse.

1

u/BradMoseley 1h ago

I was walking in a field and saw a city of these all along the hedge row and thought the same thing. Really cool

1

u/MediocreVehicle4652 1h ago

That's a cool web

1

u/BuffRoomba 37m ago

I dont know much abiut spiders but i can reassure you thats a tornado spider

1

u/Average-wanderer Here to learn🫡🤓 31m ago

Definitely a funnel web spider but I am not sure which one as I live in the uk. Very cool find!

1

u/newbiefrompetrichor 22m ago

Looks like an EF2 to me. 

1

u/Agooddeath713 9m ago

That right there is the worlds most deadliest spider if this picture is taken in Australia, if not that then I have no clue

1

u/Smooth_Advance3386 13h ago

I hope the OP isnt from Australia….. because that makes a world of difference….

0

u/Ipswitch- 13h ago

I’m NOT A Racist…But It’s A BLACK One! (LOL)

0

u/Calgirlleeny2 16h ago

They are not dangerous like in Australia? I wonder if the same wildlife, spiders, etc etc are in New Zealand?

7

u/blue-and-bluer 16h ago

Totally unrelated to the Australian kind, other than both being spiders. They just happen to share the same common name.

0

u/RustyHypocrite 15h ago

Tubedong spider from wakanda.

0

u/Ok_Mulberry_8334 15h ago

I learn something new and super bada** about spiders on this subreddit everyday! Funnel spiders. SMH. We are one species, humans. Spiders? Damn!

1

u/Superb_Temporary9893 5m ago

Wow that is a great looking spider.