Spiders in Venezuela

What spiders live in Venezuela?

Venezuela runs from Caribbean beaches and the dry Maracaibo basin, over the northern end of the Andes, across the seasonally flooded Llanos and into the ancient sandstone tepuis of the Guiana Shield and lowland Amazon forest in the far south. Each belt carries a different spider fauna, and the national list already holds many hundreds of described species.

Three groups cover almost everything people actually see. Orb-weavers hang across gardens, hedges and forest gaps: the silver garden orbweaver Argiope argentata sits head-down in a web marked with a bright zigzag ribbon, thorn spiders of the genus Micrathena string small webs with hard, spined abdomens across forest paths, and the golden silk orb-weaver builds the large yellow-tinted sheets you walk into at head height. Jumping spiders hunt by sight in the open, among them the translucent green Lyssomanes on shaded leaves and the gray wall jumping spider on sunlit masonry. Indoors, the southern house spider lays flat radiating silk over wall cracks.

Which spiders in Venezuela are dangerous?

Wandering spiders

The genus Phoneutria is the country's main spider of medical importance, and Phoneutria boliviensis is the species most often met in settled parts of the north. These wandering spiders build no snare at all. They hunt at night on the ground and on low vegetation and spend the day pressed into banana bunches, woodpiles and stacked crates, which is why farm and market workers, not hikers, account for most bites. Cornered, the spider lifts its front legs high over its head and rocks from side to side.

The risk is real but routinely exaggerated. The great majority of recorded bites produce intense local pain, sweating around the puncture and swelling, and are managed with pain control and a few hours of observation. Severe envenomation, with vomiting, raised blood pressure, drooling and disturbed heart rhythm, is uncommon and falls mainly on small children and frail adults. Venezuela produces no antivenom for the genus, so serious cases are treated supportively with advice from a poison-information centre.

Widows

Two widows matter here. The native South American black widow, Latrodectus curacaviensis, lives in dry coastal scrub, cactus stands, stone piles and fence lines, and the introduced brown widow has spread through towns and gardens, where it hangs its spiky egg sacs under furniture, meter boxes and window ledges. Both are shy cobweb spiders that bite only when pressed against skin. A significant bite causes cramping pain that spreads from the limb to the abdomen and back, with sweating, restlessness and a raised heart rate; it responds to pain relief and, in severe cases, to the Latin American anti-Latrodectus serum.

Recluses

Recluse spiders of the genus Loxosceles are present in Venezuela and cause a small, steady number of cases each year. They are plain brown, long-legged and reclusive, and they live in stored boxes, wardrobes and rarely worn clothing. The bite is often painless at first and then develops over a day or two into a bruised, blistered patch that can break down into a slow-healing ulcer, so it needs medical review rather than home treatment.

The giants that are not a threat

Venezuela's largest spiders are theraphosids of the Guiana Shield. The pinkfoot goliath, Theraphosa apophysis, is effectively a Venezuelan speciality from the forests around the upper Orinoco, and its relative the goliath birdeater reaches the same region; both approach a 28-centimetre leg span and a body the size of a fist. Neither is dangerous. Their working defence is a cloud of barbed urticating hairs flicked off the abdomen, which itch on skin and are genuinely damaging in the eyes; the bite is mechanically painful, like a deep double scratch, and carries venom of no medical importance.

The same applies to the rest of the country's tarantulas, including the arboreal Venezuelan sun tiger Psalmopoeus irminia, which older lists wrongly file under the most venomous species, the pink toe tarantula that sits on trunks and porch posts, and the Venezuelan redstripe pinktoe. Huntsman spiders such as the pantropical Heteropoda venatoria are the other false alarm: flat, fast, fond of bathroom walls and harmless. Venezuela's biggest spiders and its dangerous spiders are simply different animals.

Where you actually meet them

In and around the house

A typical Venezuelan house holds cellar spiders on ceilings, the red house spider in corners, the southern house spider spreading pale silk from cracks in block walls, and jumping spiders patrolling window frames. All of them are harmless and all of them eat mosquitoes, flies and young cockroaches, which is a good reason to leave them alone; our guide to house spiders covers the group. The recluse is the one indoor spider worth knowing by sight.

Gardens, farms and plantations

Hedges and fences carry Argiope orb-weavers and the colonial tent webs of Cyrtophora citricola, now well established in coastal towns and a frequent surprise because dozens share one shrub. Banana, plantain and coffee plots are the meeting point with wandering spiders.

Forest, savanna and tepui

Amazon and Guiana forest hold the deepest diversity and the giant tarantulas, while the Llanos support ground hunters that ride out the annual flood. On the tepui summits a small, specialised fauna lives among bromeliads and wet rock, much of it still undescribed.

When spiders are most active in Venezuela

Most of the country has no cold season, so spiders are active all year and rainfall, not temperature, sets the rhythm. Insect numbers climb through the wet months, roughly May to November, and with them the size and visibility of webs; an orb web that was a hand's width in March can span a garden path by September.

Wandering spiders become more noticeable in homes during heavy rain, when flooding drives them out of leaf litter and plantation debris onto dry ground. After a downpour in the lowlands, look inside boots and behind stacked crates before putting a hand in.

Look-alikes and the banana spider problem

No name causes more confusion in Venezuela than banana spider. Locally it means Phoneutria, the wandering spiders that shelter in fruit bunches; in North American usage it means the golden silk orb-weaver, which cannot hurt anyone. Judge by behaviour rather than by the word: a large spider sitting calmly head-down in a big yellow-tinted web is the harmless one, while one running loose across a floor or a crate at night is the one to leave alone.

Two other regular reports are not spiders at all. Tailless whip scorpions, the flat amblypygids that sit on cave and shed walls, have no venom glands, and harvestmen, with one fused body and no silk, are equally harmless.

Common Spiders in Venezuela

• Silver Garden Orbweaver (Argiope argentata)
• Amazon Thorn Spider (Micrathena schreibersi)
• Tropical Tent-web Spider (Cyrtophora citricola)

Biggest Spiders in Venezuela

• Golden Silk Orb Weaver Spider (Trichonephila clavipes)
• Pantropical Huntsman Spider (Heteropoda venatoria)
• Southern House Spider (Kukulcania hibernalis)

Most Venomous Spiders in Venezuela

Cobweb Spiders/Tangle Web Spiders (Theridiidae)

Cobweb SpidersBrown Widow (Latrodectus geometricus)Identify the brown widow (Latrodectus geometricus) by its orange hourglass and spiky egg sac, and learn how its bite compares with a black w

Wandering Spiders

Wandering SpidersBrazilian Wandering (Phoneutria)Brazilian wandering spiders (Phoneutria): how to identify them, where the nine species live, what the venom really does, and what to do afte

Less Venomous Spiders in Venezuela

Cobweb Spiders/Tangle Web Spiders (Theridiidae)

Cobweb SpidersRed House (Nesticodes rufipes)Identify the red house spider (Nesticodes rufipes): rusty red body, tangled indoor web, why it is mistaken for a widow, and what its bite ac

Orb Weavers (Araneidae)

Orb WeaversBanded Garden (Argiope trifasciata)Identify the banded garden spider (Argiope trifasciata): silver banding, size, the zigzag in its web, egg sac, range, and whether its bite iOrb WeaversGolden Silk Orb-Weaver (Nephila)Golden silk orb-weavers (Nephila): huge females, tiny males, giant golden webs, where they live, what they eat and whether their bite is dan

Jumping Spiders

Jumping SpidersLyssomanesA guide to Lyssomanes, the translucent green jumping spiders of the Americas: how to identify them, where they live, what they hunt and whetJumping SpidersGray Wall Jumping (Menemerus bivittatus)Identify the gray wall jumping spider (Menemerus bivittatus): size, the flattened grey-haired body, its walls-and-tree-trunks habitat, and w

Tarantulas (Theraphosidae)

TarantulasPink Toe Tarantula (Avicularia avicularia)Identify the pink toe tarantula (Avicularia avicularia): size, the pink foot pads, its silk tube retreat, where it lives and how dangerous i

Crevice Weavers (Filistatidae)

Crevice WeaversSouthern House (Kukulcania hibernalis)Identify the southern house spider (Kukulcania hibernalis): female and male size and color, the sunburst web, range, and why males are mista

Living with spiders in Venezuela

Nearly every spider in the country is harmless, and the handful that are not can be avoided with habits rather than pesticide. Blanket spraying kills the house spiders that control mosquitoes and leaves the wandering spiders in the plantation untouched.

• Shake out shoes, boots, clothing and bedding, especially in the lowlands and after heavy rain.
• Wear gloves when handling banana and plantain bunches, firewood, crates and stored produce.
• Keep beds away from walls, store nothing in boxes underneath them, and vacuum behind wardrobes to deny recluses their hiding places.
• Carry a torch outside at night in warm areas; wandering spiders are nocturnal ground hunters.
• Seal gaps under doors, repair screens and cut back vegetation that touches the walls.
• Leave garden orb webs where they are. They cost nothing and remove a great many mosquitoes.

Neighbouring Colombia and Brazil share almost the same medically important groups, and our most venomous spiders round-up shows how Phoneutria compares with widows, recluses and funnel-webs worldwide.