The garden spider is very harmless to people. There are many kinds of garden spiders.

This is where a trapdoor spider lives. It lives in a burrow with a door made of sticks and leaves When the trapdoor spider feels the vibration of it's passing prey it rushes out, it captures the prey and takes it in the burrow Female: short, thick legs and a brown abdomen Trapdoor Spider

Cobweb Spider The cobweb spider lives in shrubs and trees. Cobweb spiders are about 1/3 in. long. They have several dark stripes on their upper side. Cobweb spiders have tangled webs. They make large webs in the dark

Funnel Weaver Funnel Weaver spiders make funnel webs that are held by strings of silk. They catch their food by weaving their funnel shaped web in the grass.

Barn Spider A barn spider is an orb-weaving spider. It lives in barns, caves, mine openings and overhanging cliffs. It rebuilds its web every evening and sits at the center of it at night. It usually moves above the web during the day. The barn spider eats insects. When a flying insect gets tangled in the web it rushes to the prey and wraps it up with special silk before biting it. With the insect safely packaged up it can take its time before it starts the meal.

Wolf Spider Wolf spiders have four small eyes in a row. They have 3 small claws and very, very large eyes! Wolf spiders are brown and have a striped pattern. They are long and hairy and they live on the ground. Wolf spiders are not web weavers.

Black Widow Spider The female black widow is shiny black usually with a red hourglass shape or two triangles together on the underside of her round shaped stomach. She hangs upside down so it is easy to see the color. The black widow spider weaves a tangled web. It is poisonous to humans.

Water Spider The water spider looks green and has long legs. It has two body parts. The water spider lives in ponds underwater. It makes a bell shaped web. The water spider swims upside down and is the only spider, which can swim freely underwater. The water spider eats water bugs.

Brown Recluse Spider Our spider has a dull colored mark. It has a faint mark in the shape of a violin on its back. It is a web weaver. They live under rocks and fallen debris. They can also be found in attics, barns, and cellars. It has a poisonous bite. Another name for a brown recluse is "Fiddle-Back" because another name for a violin is fiddle and it has a violin shape on his back (get it?!) They only bite you when people accidentally press against their skin.

Nursery Web Spider The nursery spider has eight eyes and eight legs. When the eggs hatch, their mother builds a nursery web for the babies to be protected in. The nursery spiders can have over 200 eggs. The nursery spider's habitat is swamps and under docks.

Crab Spider The crab spider is reddish and its body is crab like. It has spines, eight eyes in two rows. It lives in plants, fences, and rocks. In the winter, they hide under stones. The crab spider does not weave webs. It runs sideways like a crab! That is why it is called a crab spider.

Tarantula When they are babies they are small but they grow large as adults. Tarantulas can weigh 1-3 oz. They are 1-5 inches long. Tarantulas have hairy bodies and legs and they can be tan, reddish brown, dark brown or black. Tarantulas are not web weavers. These spiders are very fast and can crawl across floors and walls at amazing speed. Tarantulas hiss and rub fangs together to make an impressive display.

Lynx Spider The lynx spider has 8 eyes in the shape of a hexagon. Their eyes are set in 4 rows of 2 each. Some are yellow and some are green. Usually they live in shrubs on trees and they like to live in warm climates Lynx spiders are hunting spiders that chase their prey over grass and wait for them. They do not spin webs.

Jumping Spider They live in trees and shrubs. Jumping Spiders have 360 degree eyesight. At night or when it is cool they hide in little cracks. Four small eyes help the spider notice when something is moving. They can jump 25 times their own body length.

Daddy Long Legs Although they resemble spiders, daddy long-legs, more correctly called harvestmen, are neither spiders nor insects. They are arthropods, in the same class as spiders, Arachnida, but in a different order, Phalangida. Daddy long-legs differ from spiders because their three body segments -- head, thorax and abdomen, are joined as one compact body segment. Spiders have two body segments -- the head and thorax are joined and the abdomen is the second body segment. It prefers open areas on leaves and tree trunks or shady walls outside buildings and houses.