Spiders vary in pattern and color. Some have spots and you may be concerned about the spider you saw that had spots and you want to know what it was.
Only a handful of spiders are dangerous and it does not mean if you saw a spotted spider that you need to be concerned.
Continue reading below to identify the spiders with spots and which ones you need to be wary of.
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Are Spiders with Spots Dangerous?
It is important to remember that not all spiders with spots are dangerous. The most venomous spider that does have spots is the black widow, which is mentioned below.
Overall, most of the spiders you encounter are not considered dangerous, though they may give a nasty bite if you harass them.
16 Spiders with Spots
The spiders with spots you may encounter include:
1. Bold Jumping Spider
The Bold Jumping Spider (Phidippus audax) is a common spider that you are likely to encounter. They can be identified by their large eyes. They have an excellent vision that assists them when they hunt prey. Bold jumping spiders are native to North America and are black with a white triangle on their abdomen.
These are solitary spiders that actively hunt and stalk prey. They prey on a range of insects including caterpillars, grasshoppers, other spiders, and dragonflies. They are one of the most common spiders encountered in agricultural areas.
These spiders do not build webs to capture their prey, they actively hunt down prey. They are common in grasslands, open woodlands, agricultural fields, and chaparrals. They are often found living close to humans.
A bite from this spider is very rare but they will bite if they are mishandled or feel threatened. They can grow to 15 millimeters in body length with males being slightly smaller than females. They are black with a triangle in the center of their backs and two spots just below the triangle.
2. Spinybacked Orbweaver
The Spinybacked Orbweaver (Gasteracantha cancriformis) is widely distributed throughout the United States. They grow to nine millimeters in length with six abdominal spines on the abdomen. The carapace, underside, and legs are black with white spots that can be seen under the abdomen.
There are variations of this spider on the upper side of the abdomen with yellow or white colors featuring black spots. A white upperside can have black or red spines and yellow uppersides have black spines.
This is a common spider in North America and lives on the edge of woodlands and gardens. They often co-exist with other orbweavers.
3. Golden Silk Spider
Golden Silk Spiders (Trichonephila clavipes) are known as the golden silk orbweaver and are indigenous to North and South America. They are known for the golden color of their silk. Females are large with distinct red-brown and yellow coloration.
They construct orb-shaped webs that are attached to low shrubs and trees in woodlands. The webs catch flying insects. These are excellent web builders and produce and utilize various silks which is used to capture their prey. The spider injects venom into the prey to subdue and immobilize them, wrapping them in silk.
This is not an aggressive spider species but they will bite if they are touched. They have low-toxicity venom that is not a cause for concern. They are mostly encountered by hikers as they prefer forested areas.
The females are one of the largest spiders in North America, growing up to forty millimeters in length with distinct coloration. They have a white cephalothorax and orange-brown abdomen with two rows of yellow-white spots. As the female matures, her abdomen changes color.
The males are only one-third the size of the female with a slender build. The males are dark brown on their legs and body.
4. Marbled Orbweaver
The Marbled Orbweaver (Araneus marmoreus) is also known as the pumpkin spider. Two forms are known. The majority have an orange abdomen with black or brown marbling. The second is lighter in color with a single dark patch at the back of the abdomen.
The females can grow to eighteen millimeters in length, while males only grow to nine millimeters. They have bulb-shaped abdomens with some having pale yellow, black-brown, red, or white abdomens. The cephalothorax is often yellow or burnt orange with a dark central line and a line down each side. They have red femurs with white and black banding.
They spin their webs in trees, tall weeds, grasses, wooded settings, and in trees. They are often encountered along stream banks. The orb-shaped webs have a single threat in the center that notifies the spider if the prey is captured.
They are commonly found in Canada to Alaska, the northern Rockies, North Dakota, and Texas.
5. Six-spotted Fishing Spider
The Six-spotted Fishing Spider (Dolomedes triton) belongs to the nursery web spider family and is found in wetland habitats in North America. They are often seen moving along the surface of ponds and bodies of water.
They are also known as dock spiders as they are often seen running for cover in the cracks of boating docks. This is a large and distinctive-looking spider with eight eyes and a gray-to-brown body. They have a pale stripe down the side of the cephalothorax. The abdomen has light-colored spots and lines.
If you see the underside of this spider, there are six dark spots below the cephalothorax. Females are larger than males. Females grow to approximately sixty millimeters in length, whereas males only grow to thirteen millimeters.
This semi-aquatic spider is found in wetland habitats including lakes, ponds, and other slow-moving bodies of water. They are often encountered among rocks and vegetation close to water.
6. Six-spotted Orbweaver
The Six-spotted Orbweaver (Araniella displicata) can be found throughout North America. They range in color from orange, red, tan, white, brown, or yellow. They have six spots on the underside of the abdomen which are usually black with a light ring around them. As with most spiders, the female is larger than the male.
You are likely to encounter this spider in the early summer months when they lay their eggs. They reside in a small orb web that is spun in shrubs or trees in forests, fields, and woodlands. They feed on beetles, plant bugs, flies, and small insects.
7. Tropical Orbweaver
The Tropical Orbweaver (Eriophora ravilla) is one of the large orbweavers you will encounter in Florida. They can be encountered in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. The females grow to twenty-four millimeters in length and can range from pure white to solid black. In Florida, they tend to be red-brown with a gray to brown abdomen.
Males can grow to thirteen millimeters in length with a small abdomen in dark gray. These spiders vary in pattern and color with many having white spots on the abdomen, while others may have white stripes. The dorsum can also be bright green with two humps.
This spider is often encountered in live oak scrub areas and open woodlands. The web can be more than one meter across with a bridge threat that supports the web. The web is often constructed after dark and is taken down before dawn.
The large web catches flying insects, including moths. You can find the webs in orchards, citrus groves, and woodland borders.
8. Shamrock Orbweaver
The Shamrock Orbweaver (Araneus trifolium) is common throughout the United States. They vary in color with the most common being brown or beige. The abdomen has a green tinge with several white dots on the back.
The brown or beige legs have white banding at the joints. They create webs to capture their prey. They prey on small flying insects that get stuck in the sticky web. The webs can be up to two feet in diameter.
This spider will bite if provoked, though it is not considered dangerous. They inflict a painful bite that is similar to that of a bee sting.
9. Red-spotted Ant-mimic Sac Spider
This spider (Castianeira descripta) mimics ants, walking on six legs and using the front legs as antennae. The female can grow to one centimeter in length, with males being slightly smaller. They are black with a red-brown abdomen, black legs, and a white line down the carapace.
The legs are glossy and hairy. Their venom is only effective on small prey and they are harmless to humans. They will bite if they feel threatened. Their bite is similar to a bee sting.
10. Red-spotted Orbweaver
Red-spotted Orbweavers (Araneus cingulatus) have red spots on their abdomens, making them easy to identify. Females can grow to sixty millimeters with the males being half the size. They are green with orange patches and several red spots on the abdomen.
Spiderlings are yellow. They balloon with the help of a silk thread when they are old enough. They create wheel-shaped webs that can be seen on leaves, between branches, and high in trees. They will bite but it is not dangerous to humans.
11. Two-spotted Cobweb Spider
The Two-spotted Cobweb Spider (Asagena americana) is a North American spider with a distinct white pattern on the back. Males have thin bodies and females are rounded in appearance. They have bulky and strong legs with well-shaped bodies.
Females look typical of a spider, while males are slightly smaller. Unlike other spiders that jump or display colors to attract a mate, the males of this species sing, using a stridulating organ that is close to the abdomen. It rubs the organ to create a singing noise.
They are often seen roaming in the sand and do not build webs to capture their prey.
12. Brown Widow
The Brown Widow (Latrodectus geometricus) is also known as the brown button spider and is the cousin to the famous venomous black widow spider. They have a black-and-white pattern on the side of the abdomen with an orange-yellow hourglass shape.
They can inflict a painful bite but are not considered dangerous to humans. Their coloration can fade as they age. They are distributed around the world, including in the United States.
They have a neurotoxic venom that acts on nerve endings with unpleasant symptoms. The bites are not considered dangerous with the symptoms confined to the bite area and surrounding tissues.
13. Western Black Widow
The Western Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus) is a venomous spider found in the western regions of North America. Females grow to sixteen millimeters in length. They are black with a red hourglass shape on their belly.
The hourglass can vary from yellow to white. Males are half the size of females and are tan with light stripes on the abdomen. They create messy webs. Only the female has the potent venom that is considered dangerous to humans.
Symptoms of a western black widow bite include localized swelling pain, nausea, and goosebumps. Fatalities range to up to twelve percent of bite victims with zero fatalities reported from 2000 to 2008 out of the more than twenty-three thousand bite victims.
14. Southern Black Widow
The Southern Black Widow (Latrodectus mactans) is a venomous spider that is known for its black body and red hourglass shape on its belly. This species is known to occasionally eat the males after mating. They are native to North America and their venom causes pain and unwelcome symptoms to healthy humans, though fatalities are very rare.
Mature females can grow to thirteen millimeters in length, with males only growing to six millimeters in length. They have long legs. The females are black and shiny with a red hourglass on the belly. The body is bulb-shaped.
Females vary in size with gravid females being more than one centimeter in width. Juveniles are different from adults with gray to black abdomens with white stripes and yellow to orange spots.
The males tend to be purple and similar in appearance to the juveniles. They create tangled cobwebs. These spiders are common in the southeastern United States from Ohio to Texas.
15. Northern Black Widow
The Northern Black Widow (Latrodectus variolus) is a venomous spider that is closely related to the southern black window. They are commonly found in Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland. They travel north as far as Massachusetts during the mating season, which runs from April to May.
This spider is also black with a red hourglass shape on the belly with only the females being venomous. A bite requires immediate medical attention. A human bitten by this spider may experience localized redness accompanied by severe discomfort. There is no anti-venom available but fatalities are very rare in healthy humans.
16. Cross Orbweaver
The Cross Orbweaver (Araneus diadematus) is known as the European garden spider and was introduced to North America. They vary in color from light yellow to dark gray. They have mottled white markings on the abdomen with four segments that form a cross.
The females can grow to twenty millimeters in length and males grow to thirteen millimeters. The females sometimes eat the male after mating. These spiders create large orb webs with the female hanging down in the center.
Prey gets tangled in the sticky web and is quickly bitten and then wrapped in silk. The prey is eaten later. The spider bites the prey to reduce danger to herself. The bite liquefies the internal structures of the prey.
This spider will only bite a human if provoked. They often vibrate rapidly in their web to blur themselves from predators, including humans.