Earlier this month I found and photographed this spider in my grandmother’s backyard. I finally got around to trying to figure out what it was today by searching obsessively through web page after web page. Well, I think I mostly figured it out, narrowing it down to its family, the Agelenidae, more commonly referred to as Grass Spiders, House Spiders or Funnel Web Weavers (no relation to the poisonous ones in Australia).

There are over 400 North American species in the family and I’m certainly not going to try to figure out which one it is. But if you know, please feel free to let the rest of us know in the comments (also let us know if I managed to get the family wrong!). If not, enjoy the pics!

spider

spider side view

spider close-up

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.