I don't know that much about spider names Ang but there are some crazy weird spiders around if you look closely. We used to get big round ones the size of a loonie all the way around, and they were beige with a black marking on their back that looked like a cat's face. They hung out around the porch light and ate moths at night. Never seen them again since we moved from that house.

Check out the site below, you can browze the pics and see it he recognizes anything. I'm laughing right now because when I went to that site the first thing I found was the spider I just told you about, and it's called a Cat-Faced Spider on page 2. LOL!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Spiders at BugGuide.net

I won't even look at that site - i'm shuddering just thinking about it! :>

LOL at Marcia,

She said, "I don't like spiders and snakes
And that ain't what it takes to love me
You fool, you fool
I don't like spiders and snakes
And that ain't what it takes to love me
Like I want to be loved by you"

LOL Actually, i don't mind snakes - it's dh who hates them!

How often is it that a dh hates them? Isn't it usually the boy who loves snakes and the girl who hates them?

(I was the one who would pick them up and bring them to the house to show my mom...who would promptly tell me to leave with them immediately!)

Brenda

May I introduce you to Charlotte? She's been at my back door all summer. It's very interesting to sit there and watch her.

{{gwi:693881}}

My kids and DH think I'm nuts but I also have Charlie at the front door, and many of their friends around the perimeter of my house and garden. This year, these spiders, called Solarium spiders, I believe, have been very prolific in our neighbourhood. I may start an epidemic next year because I haven't been getting rid of them but I love the number of nasty insects that they eat.
I have even been catching the odd insect to give to her and it is so cool to watch her instantly zip down her web and start to encase it in webbing. Wow, is she ever fast.

Shauna

Sorry, everyone. I forgot to resize the picture and preview.

Shauna

Thanks, Shauna. ~shudder~ :>

Talking of snakes always reminds me of the one Adam found in the garden when he was little. He carried it around by the tail for a little while and it hung down in kind of a backward J shape. He named it "Hooker"! LOL

eeeeeekkkkkkkk! That is a cool photo Shauna!

Cool pic Shauna, if you want to know the gender it's easy to tell on spiders. Just look at the little "legs" (they're not actually legs) right in front of the face. If they have little bulbs on the end that look like boxing gloves, it's male. I think this is true for all species. Also males are almost always smaller and can look quite different from females.

I love spiders, snakes and all creepy crawlies as long as they are not biting me!

Update - I was looking around the same site and I found that there is a large group called crab spiders - here they are, maybe it will narrow it down. Some of them are just beautiful, so many different colours and they hang out on flowers that they match. :0)

Here is a link that might be useful: Crab Spiders

Cool site! Thanks Gil, I'll have to show him this when he gets home from school later!

Shauna, that really is a neat picture. I can totally imagine how fast they are! I was watching some sort of show on the National Geographic Channel the other day -- all about spiders and they sure do have some fascinating abilities, that's for sure!

I've sure noticed alot of spider webs this summer... and very few other bugs! Gotta love that part!

Ang