I had to break out the vacuum for that one!

July 5, 2011 12:16 AM

What kind of spider is this?

I'm normally pretty good around spiders but this bugger just freaked the hell out of me. I live in San Francisco and have never seen a spider like that before. What the hell was that thing that thing?

posted by aspo to Pets & Animals (6 answers total)

looks like a crab spider, but could also be an orb-weaver. the former is venomous but non-toxic (reaction to bite would be like an allergic response for those sensitive). the latter is not poisonous and doesn't tend to bite.
posted by batmonkey at 12:26 AM on July 5, 2011

Looks a bit like a Yellow Sac Spider. They have a nasty bite; they're one of the very few kinds I kill when I see them in the house.
posted by SamanthaK at 12:27 AM on July 5, 2011

hm! or maybe yellow sac? check out this page to do a comparison, since you saw it more closely. (many, many pics - not suitable for the phobic)
posted by batmonkey at 12:29 AM on July 5, 2011

I highly recommend the fine folks of Spider Identification for all your spider identification needs. It's like a spider-only metafilter, but with pictures.
posted by ellenaim at 5:47 AM on July 5, 2011 [2 favorites]

Looks like an orb weaver to me.
posted by bolognius maximus at 6:07 AM on July 5, 2011

If its eyes were in two rows of 4 each, and the legs were splayed out like this, and if it moved in sudden jumps (when threatened), then it looks like it could be a huntsman spider, family Sparassidae.
posted by dhruva at 8:14 PM on July 5, 2011