San Diego Spiders

[bford]

If the marking on the abdomen of that brown spider is shaped like an hour glass, it is the brown widow and the coloring can be anywhere from yellow to red but is usually orange. They can have variations in thier colorings from an almost off white to a very dark brown. In all of them that I've seen (hundreds), there are two common markings, the hour glass marking and the joints of thier legs are black. They inject less venom than thier cousin the Black Widow but it is also more potent and certainly isnt a spider to be played with. The Brown widow's egg sac is round with a bunch of spikes, it looks like an old world war 2 harbor mine and is off white / tan in color.

[SD_Dayon]

Brown Widows are native to Sotuh Africa but are establishing a population in california within the recent decade, I see them, everywhere in SD and beyond (found 32 outside my home). Thanks to the global economy, critters from all areas hitch rides on boxes and freight...then they appear in non-native regions. as far a a brown recluse, no official source endorses their existence in So-Cal, yet you get people claiming to have seen them.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

My yard is filthy with brown widows too now. 10 years ago I didn't see a one.

[Oerdin]

Originally Posted by Latchkey Kid

I'm not an expert but black windows are poisonous, as are the brown recluse but I didn't know there were recluse in CA. Never heard of anyone getting bit by either. Just stay out of wood piles. As far as tarantulas, wouldn't have thought they'd be in San Deigo since I've never heard of them in LA. But I think tarantulas have a bad rap for their appearance more than anything else. I was once told that their bite was similar to a bee sting. But I'm not an expert. Do a search on spiders in CA or SD, there are guides out there with info and pictures.

Yes, there are tarantulas here, I used to catch them as a kid and you can find them in wild less developed places crawling across trails or roads at dawn and near sunset. That said, they really don't bother anyone, their bite really is no worse then a bee sting and they won't even do that unless you really try to provoke them. I actually kept a wild tarantula I caught in Mira Mesa as a kid as a pet until by bratty sister dropped him and the poor thing fell apart. They're really fragile things and their legs will fall off quite easily so its best just to leave them alone knowing they won't hurt you and that they'll help keep the number of pests down on your property.

http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/inverts/apho.html (broken link)

That's a link about local tarantulas from the San Diego Natural History Museum.

[Oerdin]

This happens to be a south American tarantula which is much larger then our local tarantulas but they're part of the same family. As you can see they're quite docile and can be readily handled without fear of them biting. Just don't play with them roughly or scare them by making loud noises or quick motions.


YouTube - Salmon Pink Bird Eater Tarantula ... again

[Oerdin]

San Diego County Cache Critters - Groundspeak Forums

The second post on that page has a picture of the tarantulas which are native here in the southwest. That's a wild tarantula too which the guy picked up and is holding in his hand. As you can see they're quite tame and won't bite even if you pick them up unless you really do something wrong.