Today, I decided I would figure out what kinds of spiders we actually have... so I know whether to be afraid. There seem to be two different types, both brown. One is light brown, fat and juicy, probably 3/4 inch body and 2" long overall. The other is darker, skinnier, and a little smaller.
Well, it only took me about 20 minutes to find one! It was the second type, dark and skinny. here are the best pictures I got, they are the same spider, just different lighting:
(click them to see the larger versions)
After about an hour of searching and reading online, it looks very much like a Hobo spider. But according to the online expert at Burke Museum, it is impossible to identify a spider from a picture, and only a trained arachnologist can make a positive id. Then there's the Hobo Spider website (hobospider.org) which has a lot of info and makes me scared!
Who knows what the other type of spider could be. If I ever catch one of those, I'll post the pics.
So what do you think? Should I be scared? I don't think we'd die if we were bitten, but it could be pretty painful!
