This morning I captured a spider in my bed, and it’s a type of spider that I see fairly frequently around here (the Las Vegas area) that for some reason looks vaguely menacing to me.
It’s not a black widow, but it looks like it could be a desert recluse or some other variant of the brown recluse theme. I’m really bad at identifying spiders from web photos, though, and my @#$% digital cameras won’t focus close enough to allow me to get a clear picture of it so that I can ask for identification.
But I’ve got the spider in a zipper bag, so I wonder: does anybody know of a person or place where you can send a spider for identification? Maybe an entomologist (er, arachnologist?) I could overnight the spider to?
Ordinarily I’d just throw it away, but like I said, we see these spiders a lot, and my wife is somewhat freaked out and is anxious to find out what kind of spider it is.
Hmmm … it just occurred to me that since we both attend UNLV, there might be somebody there who could help. Anybody know anybody there who might be able to do this kind of thing?
A person that studies spiders is called an arachnologist. I couldn’t find any at UNLV. Search for an arachnologist, or post a pic here or a site like this: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/spiders.html
Tell Doug thanks, Dex. I guess I should clarify what I meant about it being dangerous. I know that if it’s not a recluse or a widow, it’s not dangerous in the sense of being potentially lethal or causing a necrotic wound or whatever. But there are numerous other spiders with bites that would feel like a bee sting, aren’t there? I don’t want to get a painful bite from a spider almost as much as I don’t want to get a dangerous bite.
You could try contacting your county Extension office. They should be able to link you up with an entomologist who can help. (Ow! Stop hitting me! I know spiders aren’t insects, but Extension entomologists often know about them anyway, since they get many of these kind of inquiries.) The good thing about Extension is that they know what you’re likely to encounter in your locale.
I don’t know if he does spiders, but Richard Fagerlund (who does a weekly column in the Albuquerque Journal called “Ask the Bugman”) has a website. He says he’ll identify any bug for a $10 fee (which will apparently be donated to an animal welfare organization.) Seems a little steep for a spider, but if you really want to know, there’s a possibility.
We’ve got an Insectarium in Montreal, and I once brought a bug there just in case someone would want to help me identify it. They were wonderful and someone spent almost a half hour explaining bug stuff to me. Really, I hate bugs and just wanted to leave after learning what the bug was, but I felt I had to stay and listen to be polite.
Do you have a nature museum or nature center, or something like that nearby? I’m sure someone there could help you. Or an entomologist at the university, for that matter.
