Every spider is a brown recluse unless it's a black widow.
The brown recluse can actually be identified by a "violin" shape on their body! I'm a bit of a nutter and let most spiders chill where they are in my apartment if they are safe lol
No way I'm getting close enough to make out the violin shape. I'll just continue assuming they're all brown recluses, tyvm.
Don't worry... they'll get close enough to you... nasty little fuckers.
It's chilling inside. It ain't bothering me, I actually like the company lol. I might move it outside later but It's kind of cold out and it seems happy.
I have some house rules for spiders: no bed, no hanging above bed, no sudden movements, avoid open spaces, no counters, get away from my feet. They are welcome to any dark corner of my home.
My rules are if you make a web you can stay, but all running spiders will be put outside. No bed, no hanging above the bed, no towels, never on my body without permission, and if you don't let me catch you with my homemade spider trap (a little bell jar and paper coaster), I'll inform the cat of your whereabouts.
Pretty much as long as they aren't in or above my bed and so long as they aren't touching me as you said they are okay with me.
Here's a baby step towards spider tolerance: neither of those spiders can make a Charlotte-type web. So, any spider you see hanging out in one of these 🕸️ is not only not a danger to you, she's taking prey and space away from the scary ones, so you want more like her to crowd them out.
I love the pointy boys that make really good webs!
I get a lot of orbweavers in my yard and they're nice to see.
Orchard:
Trash line:
???????:
I like these Halloween orange guys! Their web lines look too thin to hold them. Took me awhile to find a picture where the web wasn't torn, because they like to build where light is coming from a window or door at night, to catch night bugs, so people tend to find them by walking into it face-first in the morning. But they're good guys!
iNaturalist says it's genus Xysticus which seems probable to me
That must be it. I searched Xysticus and found a pic that looks just like it.
Looks like a crab spider to me. Maybe Xysticus funestus. But it's hard to tell.
Approximate size and geographic location can confirm the species.
Edit: They do live in Maryland. It could be a different crab spider. But X. funestus looks closest to me. Not medically significant. Ambush spiders. Live in leaf litter.
That seemed the closest to me as well. I wasn't sure as I don't know my spiders very well. Thank you!
Neither do I. But I know enough to whittle it down to crab spider and go from there. But from the markings on its cephalothorax and the stance it is taking and its general coloring, seems to fit the best.
A/S/L?
Oh yeah might help, Maryland, United States
But what's the spider's age?
As others have said, looks like a crab spider or running crab spider. I'll see if I can take a crack at the genus tomorrow
If it's eyes are like 2, 2, 2, then it's a recluse.
Apparently they're called Flower Spiders
as well, because that's where they like to hide
I am not sure if you are aware, but if you have an iPhone, you can take a photo of any plant, flower or animal, then in the photos app, open the photo, swipe up and then click ‘Lookup Bug/Plant’
Mine is a Google Pixel, that's pretty neat tech though.
Google lens is a thing
Pixels have gone heavy for advertising the "ai swipe your picture to look up the thing" so you could try that?
I removed or disabled most of the built in Google apps. It may have worked but I won't be able to test that unfortunately.
A general community to post things about insects
For more specific communities:
Isopods and Myriapods: !isopodmyriapod@mander.xyz
A community for our eight-legged friends: !arachnology@mander.xyz
