Many people are terrified of spiders and find them extremely creepy. This is unfortunate because not only are most spiders completely harmless, they benefit our environment by controlling the insect population. South Africa is known for its vast biodiversity, and this extends to its spiders. South Africa has a rich diversity of jumping spiders, with more than species described so far. It is important to remember that spiders seen in South Africa are not bound by the territorial lines ided on by humans, therefore their distribution is subject to change. Before we begin, I want you to know that the list below is just a fraction of the spiders in South Africa. Because of the sheer number of these arachnids, it would be impossible to cover them all.
While there are several dangerous species of spiders, most of them avoid confrontation and flee if possible. Spiders found in South Africa includeunique species from confirmed sightings by contributing members of Spider ID. As part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), all available information on spider species distribution in the South African Grassland Biome was compiled.
Common Spider Species in South Africa
1. Hairy Golden Orb-weaving Spider
Their coloring is predominantly yellow with black patterns. Females are 20-40 mm (0.8-1.5 in). Hairy Golden Orb-weaving Spiders makes elaborate flat webs of concentric circles and spokes from the center. Their webs can reach up to 1 meter (3 feet) in diameter. Male Hairy Golden Orb-weaving Spiders have an unusual tactic to survive mating, which is typically dangerous for spiders. During mating, the male sacrifices one of its front legs as a snack for the female. This behavior increases the chances of successful mating while decreasing the chances of the male being eaten by the female.
2. Common Garden Orb Web Spider
Also called Black and Yellow Garden Spider or Garden Orb Spider. It creates massive webs resembling wheels, which they use for several days before moving and creating a new one. The webs are typically constructed one meter off the ground and spread across plants. Common Garden Orb Web Spiders have an efficient (but sort of gross) way of eating their meals. To overpower large prey, like grasshoppers, bees, flies, butterflies, and dragonflies, they wrap their victim in silk to incapacitate it. Then, they paralyze their victims by injecting them with poison. Before eating, the spider injects enzymes that liquefy the prey’s insides. The spider then consumes the liquid left over, sort of like a bug smoothie!
Read also: Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority
3. Brown Widow
The coloring is mottled tan and brown with black accent markings. On the sides of the abdomen, there are three diagonal stripes. The Brown Widow employs a neurotoxic venom, causing pain, muscle rigidity, vomiting, and sweating. Females create webs in isolated, safe locations near houses and branch-heavy woods. One of the easiest ways to identify these spiders in South Africa is to look for their egg sacs.
Dangerous Spiders: What you need to know about the black widow and brown recluse
4. Banded-legged Golden Orb-web Spider
Males have the same color pattern but are usually paler and ten times smaller than females. These spiders weave beautiful, sturdy, golden-colored webs. They can regulate the amount of pigment and stickiness in their webs to adapt to their environment. Interestingly, the females keep food supplies on their webs. Up to 15 insects are carefully arranged and wrapped in silk to prevent deterioration of the prey. Male Banded-legged Golden Orb-web Spiders often linger near the edge of the female’s web. When he is ready to mate, he will tap on the edge of the web to ensure that the female is in a good mood and bring her food as courtship. Then, while the female is eating, he will approach quietly, inject his semen into her abdomen and flee as soon as possible to avoid being eaten.
5. African Hermit Spider
Females grow up to 25 mm (1 in). The legs of both sexes are a combination of brown, red, and black. African Hermit Spiders get their common name from building funnel-shaped retreats on the side of their webs. Their asymmetrical webs are usually found on trees and bushes in tropical and subtropical climates. African Hermit Spiders live close to people and can be spotted in manufactured structures on walls and roofs. If you find an African Hermit Spider in South Africa, it’s most likely a female. That’s because the males are so small they’re hardly ever spotted. In fact, they have the greatest sexual dimorphism of any spider in South Africa. Females are up to 14 times bigger than males and up to 70 times heavier.
6. Common Rain Spider
The upper parts are tawny brown and covered in hair. Females’ legs can reach 110 mm (4.3 in). They have yellow and brown banding on the undersides, and their body length ranges from 15 to 36 mm (0.5-1.4 in). Males are smaller in size but have longer legs. The Common Rain Spider is part of the genus known as Huntsman Spiders due to their speed and method of hunting. Instead of weaving webs, these arachnids hunt for insects found in plants and foliage. The females defend their egg sacs aggressively, and humans are frequently bitten during breeding seasons. When threatened, the Common Rain Spider raises its legs to intimidate predators. They also release toxins when they bite. Thankfully, their venom isn’t very dangerous for humans, but it does cause burning and swelling. Despite their fearsome appearance, Common Rain Spiders have a very unusual predator - the Pompilid Wasp. These wasps paralyze Rain Spiders with their bite and then drag them to their nests.
Read also: Discover Thula Thula
7. Masked Vlei Spider
The body and limbs are elongated, with colorful markings. Their abdomen has brownish sidelines, with one vertical black and one yellow line on each side. The middle part of the abdomen is green. The average size is 8-9 mm (0.3-0.35 in), with the males being smaller than the females. Masked Vlei Spiders create orb webs in low vegetation, around 3-4 cm (1-1.5 in) above the ground. Unlike most spiders in South Africa, the Masked Vlei Spider has some communal tendencies. For example, up to three spiders can share a web and don’t appear to compete with one another for space.
8. Gray Wall Jumping Spider
This species has a flattened torso and short, thick, greyish-white hair. The male has a brownish-white stripe on each side of the abdomen and a black dorsal stripe. The female has a larger abdomen and is typically lighter brown. The Gray Wall Jumping Spider is native to South Africa but has since spread throughout the world. It frequently appears on the exterior of buildings or tree trunks in gardens. Instead of weaving a web around their prey, the Gray Wall Jumping spider stalks the prey before springing on it to attack. Their wide eyes and visual acuity allow them to easily focus on objects and distinguish between different colors. And, using their exceptional jumping ability, they can seize their prey in the blink of an eye. Interestingly, male Gray Wall Jumping Spiders can produce sounds as part of courtship behavior. The hairs on their femurs and the teeth on the chelicerae (small claws on the front of the mouth) make clicking noises that attract females.
9. Tropical Tent-web Spider
Females are 10 to 15 mm (0.3-0.5 in) long. Color variations in females are typical - some are brown, while others have black and white markings on their abdomen. The Tropical Tent-web Spider makes an unusual web that resembles mesh curtains. Prey is deflected onto the orb-web by a network of threads that support the orb-web and form a tent. This species spends most of its time on its complex web. These spiders can be hard to find in South Africa because they are nocturnal, which keeps them hidden from predators throughout the day. Tropical Tent-web spiders catch prey in three distinct phases. In the initial stage, the spider bites or wraps its prey in silk to incapacitate it. Then, they remove it from the web itself and carry the prey to the hub of the web. Finally, once they reach the safety of the center of the web, they consume their meal.
10. Banded Garden Spider
Also known as the Banded Orb Weaving Spider. This species has an oval abdomen and bright body markings. The back of the abdomen is pale yellow with silvery hairs and lateral bands of black stripes. Males are usually paler, sometimes even white. Adult females are around 13 to 14.5 mm (0.51-0.57 in) long. Males are considerably smaller, reaching only ⅓ of the females’ length. The Banded Garden Spider builds an enormous web, typically around 60 cm (23.6 in) in diameter. The web itself is sticky and strong, able to hold very large insects like wasps and grasshoppers. One interesting feature of their webs is the so-called “stabilimentum,” a vertical zigzag pattern made from dense silk. Researchers think this feature is a way to attract insects that the Banded Garden spider eats. The female can usually be found resting at the center of the web, facing downwards. They face their webs east-to-west to take advantage of the rising and setting sun and hang in the center with their dark underside facing south. All this allows them to gain as much warmth as possible, enabling them to stay active later in the year. These spiders rarely bite humans in South Africa and are not aggressive. If disturbed, they may drop from the center of their web.
Read also: Traditional South African Bread
11. Adanson’s House Jumper
Males have more colorful bodies, with black abdomen color and two white crescents on their bodies. Both sexes have long legs covered with spines and hairs. The Adanson’s House Jumper lives in warm climates all over South Africa. Although they can reuse their nests, they usually build new ones each night. Their webs are relatively small, about twice the size of the spider. The Adanson’s House Jumper is quite sociable and can be seen grouped in bigger numbers. One of the most interesting traits of this species is its ability to jump incredible distances. They hunt by leaping several centimeters onto their prey, grabbing them, and injecting venom by bite.
12. Shorthorn Kitespider
Also known as the Thorn spider, the Jewel spider, the Star spider, or the Kite spider. Females are 8-10 mm (0.31-0.39 in) long. They’re bright cream, white or yellow, red, and black. Their abdomen is usually black at the sides and white at the center, with red spots. Unlike other spiders in South Africa, this species is most commonly seen during winter. They reproduce in the spring, and the females die after producing the egg sac, leaving the young to grow and disperse on their own. The Shorthorn Kitespider is mostly found in evergreen forests, woodlands, or shrubby gardens. They use trees to build their webs at least one meter above the ground.
13. Scimitar-horn Kitespider
Females have abdomens that are bright red with deep black spots. Males are considerably smaller and don’t have spines or bright colors. The Scimitar-horn Kitespider thrives in tropical and subtropical climates. As with other orb-weaving spiders, the Scimitar-horn Kitespider builds flat webs with sticky silk. It chooses locations between trees and high grass and feeds on insects caught on the web. This species releases enzymes into the insects’ bodies to digest its prey and then drinks their liquified insides.
14. Longleg Dandy Spider
Females are pale yellow with black markings and some scattered white and orange or brown hairs on the upper side. Males are orange or brown with darker brown mottling and grey hairs over the surface and broad white bands on the base of the legs. The legs of both sexes are slender. Because of their small eyes, Longleg Dandy spiders have poor night vision, which makes them vulnerable to predators such as birds, mantises, and frogs. The Longleg Dandy usually catches prey by jumping on it, but females sometimes create webs to catch food. The “capture webs” are funnel-shaped and wide at the top. They even attach their webs to existing webs of other spiders to lure them in! When they catch big prey, the Longleg Dandy spiders release a powerful venom that paralyzes their prey.
15. Redleg Orbweaver
The Redleg Orbweaver is also known as the Red-legged Golden Orb-weaver Spider and Red-legged Nephila Spider. Females are larger, but their coloring is similar to males. The coloring of the abdomen can be brown, black, grey, orange, or bright yellow, with black markings. As the name suggests, the legs are black with red markings. Redleg Orbweavers make large, asymmetric webs reaching up to 1.5m (5 ft) in diameter! Once their web is built, they become a permanent resident, never leaving it again. Instead of building a new web like some other orb-weavers, they rebuild and fix the parts that need reinforcement. Redleg Orbweavers eat the part of the web that needs to be repaired and then replace it with new silk. This colonizing species is known for forming huge groups and joining webs to cover as much area as possible, increasing prey quantity. Mosquitoes, moths, flies, beetles, and wasps make up most of the Redleg Orbweaver’s diet.
16. Longhorn Kitespider
Also known as Spiny-backed Orb Weaver, Spiny Spider, or Spiny Orb-weaver. This species’ coloring is variable; bright red, yellow, orange, or white are all common. Most individuals have black markings. Females have six noticeable spines on their hard shell-like abdomens. The middle pair of horns is drastically bigger than the other two. The Longhorn Kitespider is primarily found in South Africa in forests, woodlands, or shady gardens with shrubs. The Longhorn Kitespider catch prey on their webs and injects enzymes that dissolve the insect’s insides before consuming it. Although they are considered venomous because of this digestive fluid, they aren’t known to be dangerous to humans.
17. Southern Baboon Spider
Note: Baboon spiders are a subfamily of tarantulas broadly present on the African continent. Around nine genera and over one hundred species are present in South Africa. Their coloring varies from light brown to dark brown or black. Some species can also have grey, beige, orange, or light yellow colors. Southern Baboon Spiders are members of the Tarantula family. These ground-dwelling spiders use their fangs and chelicerae (pincer-like mouth appendages) to dig burrows that they line with silk. Their natural habitats are savanna forests, arid scrublands, and grasslands. They are vicious hunters, preying on insects, small rodents, reptiles, and just about anything else they can take down. Baboon Spiders lift their front legs to appear bigger and more intimidating when disturbed or threatened. If the threat continues, they will bite and release venom. The fangs of a Baboon Spider can be more than a centimeter long! As you can imagine, a bite from one can be very painful, and their venom can cause localized swelling.
18. Bark Spider
Females are black or brown, with long white hairs on the upper body. Some individuals are spotted with red, yellow, or orange. Males have a lighter color, usually without any spots. The silk that Bark Spiders produce is the toughest biological material humans have ever studied, twice as strong as any other spider silk known to science. And not only do Bark Spiders have the strongest silk, but they also build the largest webs. This impressive species holds the record with a surface area of up to 2.8 square meters (30 sq ft). Perhaps the most fascinating thing about Bark Spiders is the unique location of their webs. They construct them directly above a river or stream, so insects flying above the water are snared in its web. This genus has both brawn and brains!
19. Lobed Argiope
Females are large and grow up to 25 mm (0.98 in) long. It’s hard to miss a female Lobed Argiope if you come across one. In addition to being incredibly large, they have a unique body shape and coloration that makes them stand out. Make sure to look at the center of their web, as you should see a zigzag stabilimenta, which is a silk-shaped web decoration. Scientists aren’t exactly sure what the purpose is of having a stabilimenta, but the dominant theory is that it helps attract insects to the web by reflecting UV light.
20. Widow Spiders (Latrodectus)
The genus Latrodectus was erected by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1805, for the species Latrodectus tredecimguttatus and Latrodectus mactans. Arachnologist Herbert Walter Levi revised the genus in 1959, studying the female sexual organs and noting their similarity across described species. Levi also noted that study of the genus had been contentious; in 1902, both F. O. Pickard-Cambridge and Friedrich Dahl had revised the genus, with each criticising the other.
L. Latrodectus is a broadly distributed genus of spiders informally called the widow spiders,[3] with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. A member of the family Theridiidae, this genus contains 34 species,[8] which include several North American "black widows" (southern black widow Latrodectus mactans, western black widow Latrodectus hesperus, and northern black widow Latrodectus variolus). Elsewhere, others include the European black widow (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus), the Australian redback spider (Latrodectus hasseltii) and the closely related New Zealand katipō (Latrodectus katipo), several different species in Southern Africa that can be called button spiders, and the South American black-widow spiders (Latrodectus corallinus and Latrodectus curacaviensis). Species vary widely in size.
These small spiders have an unusually potent venom containing the neurotoxin latrotoxin, which causes the condition latrodectism, both named after the genus. Female widow spiders have unusually large venom glands, and their bite can be particularly harmful to large vertebrates, including humans. In the United States each year, about 2,500[12] people report being bitten by a black widow, but most do not need medical treatment. Some bites have no venom injected-a "dry" bite. Contrary to popular assumptions, most people who are bitten suffer no serious damage, let alone death.
Female widow spiders are typically dark brown or a shiny black in colour when they are full grown, usually exhibiting a red or orange hourglass on the ventral surface (underside) of the abdomen; some may have a pair of red spots or have no marking at all. The male widow spiders often exhibit various red or red and white markings on the dorsal surface (upper side) of the abdomen, ranging from a single stripe to bars or spots, and juveniles are often similar to the male pattern. Females of a few species are paler brown and some have no bright markings.
The prevalence of sexual cannibalism, a behaviour in which the female eats the male after mating, has inspired the common name "widow spiders".[20] This behaviour may promote the survival odds of the offspring;[21] however, females of some species only rarely show this behaviour, and much of the documented evidence for sexual cannibalism has been observed in laboratory cages where the males could not escape. Male black widow spiders tend to select their mates by determining if the female has eaten already to avoid being eaten themselves.
Like other members of the Theridiidae, widow spiders construct a web of irregular, tangled, sticky silken fibres. Black widow spiders prefer to nest near the ground in dark and undisturbed areas, usually in small holes produced by animals, or around construction openings or woodpiles. Indoor nests are in dark, undisturbed places such as under desks or furniture or in a basement.[26] The spider frequently hangs upside down near the centre of its web and waits for insects to blunder in and get stuck. Then, before the insect can extricate itself, the spider rushes over to envenomate and wrap it in silk.
As with other web-weavers, these spiders have very poor eyesight and depend on vibrations reaching them through their webs to find trapped prey or warn them of larger threats. When a widow spider is trapped, it is unlikely to bite, preferring to play dead or flick silk at the potential threat; bites occur when they cannot escape.[29] Many injuries to humans are due to defensive bites delivered when a spider gets unintentionally squeezed or pinched.
Table of Latrodectus Species
| Species | Distribution |
|---|---|
| Latrodectus geometricus | Africa, Americas, St. Helena |
| Latrodectus hasselti | Southeast Asia to Australia |
| Latrodectus hesperus | Canada, United States, Mexico |
| Latrodectus indistinctus | Africa |
| Latrodectus mactans | North America |
| Latrodectus pallidus | Africa, Middle East, Asia |
| Latrodectus renivulvatus | St. Helena, South Africa, Madagascar |
| Latrodectus umbukwane | South Africa |
