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Comments & ID Thoughts
Sorry I squished it but I was surprised and scared. Can anyone tell from this photo what kind of spider this is? Found in wood pile, western Washington.
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Mar 4, 2025
- Photographed: Mar 4, 2025
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Bainbridge Island , Washington, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: Under rock, log, or debris
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes:
I never blame anyone for a fear reaction. The good news if you meet any more of these is that they are harmless…I cannot be 100% sure of the id but I know it does not belong to the very few medically significant spiders.
It looks like it was a black lace weaver. Amaurobius ferox female. They do a great job tackling insect pests and are good to have around.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/105588401
I agree, I cropped the photo to just the part we needed for the ID. Black Lace Weavers are sweet fuzzy spiders. My cellar walls are guarded by them. If you ever want to move one, grab the outer funnel of the web and pull. That scoops the spider into a silk bag. Some dens have a male and female. They will “play dead” if you grab them. I timed it at 5 minutes before they start moving again one of the times I accidentally grabbed a handful of fuzzy spider. 🙂