Arachnids

This is a type of orb-weaving spider, Araneus andrewsi (or possibly A. gemma).  It's very closely related to the Barn Spider, the species that inspired E.B. White to write Charlotte’s Web.  They spin a large web across a path at night, then wait nearby for prey to become stuck.  This one just cut a June Bug out of her web and is pulling it back to her hiding spot.  Come morning she will cut the web down and eat it (the dew on the web provides moisture for her body) and wait to begin again with a whole new web the next night.

Here is a Trashline Spider, Allocyclosa bifurca, hard to see in the middle of her web.  We've had a few of these in one particular corner of our yard.  They leave that vertical line of wrapped up prey in the web, and they themselves seem to be camouflaged with the same stuff stuck to their back (that’s her hiding right in the middle). 

The Spotted Orbweaver, Neoscona crucifera 

This is an Elongate Stilt Spider, Tetragnatha elongata.  They are often found near water.  This one was on our window, but our little pond wasn't too far away.

I believe this to be a type of Cribellate Orb Weaver, Uloborus diversus.  She has thick front legs that are almost twice as long as the rest of the body.  In this photo the front legs start at the center of the web and go off to the left, while the body goes off to the right (with the other legs gathered up around it).  All of that extra-thick webbing is called stabilimenta, and it was once thought to stabilize the web (hence the name).  Now some scientists think that it helps the spider to quickly evacuate the web in times of danger. 

Above are two photos of Mabel Orchard Spiders, Leucage venusta.  They apparently show great variation in both markings and body shape.  Some years they are quite plentiful in our yard (we'd see their jewel-like bodies shining in webs all over). 

I have yet to identify the three orb weavers shown above. 

 This is a Longbodied Cellar Spider (Pholcus phalangioides).  They're pretty commonly found in high, dark, indoor corners, sitting in their large, disorderly webs. 

This is an Elongate Long-Jawed Orb Weaver (Tetragnatha sp.).  I see them around water all the time.  They spin their webs in the late evening, as this one is doing.  In the day they often rest on solid ground with their front legs gathered straight forward and their rear legs gathered straight back, their body thus forming a line.  

 These tiny spiders are pretty common in our house, where they hang out around the baseboards.  That's probably why it's called a Wall Spider, Oecobius cellariorum. 

The Twin-Flagged Jumping Spider, Anasaitis conosa.  They have exceptional vision, and as their name suggests they prefer to jump onto their prey rather than trapping it in a web.

 Here are two different species of cobweb spider, family Theridiidae, though I'm having difficulty narrowing it down beyond that.  They are all around our front entryway, but are very small and easily overlooked.  They're related to Black Widows (same family), but not nearly as dangerous.  I'm assuming that's a male and a female of the same species in the bottom photo, who may have recently mated.   

These two photos are of a female Black Widow, Latrodectus mactans.  The classic hourglass shape on her belly is just visible in the top photo, but as you can see she had some pretty remarkable markings on her back as well.  I actually took the pictures at my parents' house in Granbury, Texas, but Black Widows are found around here, too.

Still another jumper: it's the Magnolia Green Jumping Spider (Lyssomanes viridis).  The top picture is a female, and the bottom picture is a male.  Check out the size of his jaws!  (Click the picture to zoom in a bit).

Scorpions are arachnids.  I've never seen a scorpion in my yard, but I have seen these: another non-spider arachnid called a pseudoscorpion.  Yes, it's tiny- that's the back of my hand.  The prominent appendages in front are pincers that they use for grabbing prey.  They don't have stingers or venom like scorpions or spiders do.