The humid and subtropical climate of the southern United States is an ideal environment for several species of spiders. Georgia, in particular, is home to more than 10 types of spiders. These spiders are very different in size, shape, and color, including behavior and habitat.

Lynx Spider

A lynx spider is very colorful with green, yellow, silver, bands around its body. The lynx is about 20mm full grown and has long spiny legs. It has eight eyes in four rows of two sections on the top of its front section.

Long Jawed Orbweaver

The long jawed orbweaver is known for its large fangs. The females can grow up to 11mm in length, but the males are often under 6mm. The spider has a long body with very long legs, and it can stretch into a straight line to hide or to hunt. The spider is a very light tan color with shiny legs.

Crab Spider

Crab spiders are small, under 9mm, and are short with wide bodies. The spiders can flatten their bodies for hunting and hiding. They get their name because they resemble tiny crabs. They also have the ability to alter their colors in many different shades of white and yellow.

Trapdoor Spider

The trapdoor spider gets its name because it creates a door out of mud and silk to the entrance of its burrow. The spider looks similar to a tarantula, but is much smaller, and does not have as much hair. It has polished looking legs. This spider is fairly large at 1.2 inches.

Cellar Spiders

The cellar spider gets the name because it likes to live in cellars and basements. It has long and skinny legs, and its first pair of legs is five times the size of its body. The cellar spider typically has a body measuring between 2mm to 6mm long, with a total of eight legs. Cellar spiders have unusually small fangs and are gray and brown in color.

Ogre-faced Spiders

The ogre-faced spider has large eyes and large fangs. It has a a hump backed shape and it has thorns on the back of its fourth pair of legs. It is about 20mm in length and is brown in color.

Sheet Web Weavers

The sheet web weaver is one of Georgia's smallest spiders, at under 5mm in length. It has a bulbous and elongated abdomen, which is usually a metallic yellow or red in color. It has long thin legs and studded short fangs.

Crevice Spider

The crevice spider is often confused with the poisonous brown recluse, because they both have a violin shape. The spider is between 13mm to 19mm in length, and the males are toward the smaller length. The females are a dark charcoal gray color and the males are a khaki and amber color.

Funnel Web Spiders

The funnel web spider is fairly large, with a distinctive oval shaped body. These spiders have spinnerets attached to their abdomens and can spin webs much easier than other Georgia spiders. The spider has a brown or black stripe down its back, and also has two horizontal rows of four eyes.

Fishing Spiders

The fishing spider comes in many varieties and ranges anywhere from 8mm to 30mm in length. The spider has segments that are longer than they are wide, and its body is brown with cream-colored stripes. The fishing spider can live in many types of climates, and Georgia's subtropical is just one of them.

About the Author

Based in Bryn Athyn, Penn., Sarah Bostock has been writing since 2006. Her articles on education have been featured in "The Virginia English Bulletin." Bostock holds a Master of Science in English with a concentration in British literature from Radford University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in photography from Virginia Intermont College.

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