Eight-Legged Friends (don't click if you're arachnophobic)

[Leafmite]

Nice pictures! Some spiders are just too cute!

I agree about spiders being a gardener's helper. I usually move them outside when I find them indoors, unless it is too cold, and then they go into the garage with hopes that they will winter over alright. A few, however, have the privilege of being quietly relocated to my plants or somewhere else (like the jumping spider that stayed with my orchids during the winter--too cute to put outside).

[My Green Pets]

[ALToronto]

Wow! You don't need to go too far south for the bugs to get big! We in the cold north don't get anything bigger than an inch (25 mm).

[Skycat]

Originally Posted by ALToronto

How big is 'huge'?

Maybe like... somewhere around 3/4 of an inch? I dunno, I only just now found a tape measure to compare with my memory of the spider's size. It was definitely way bigger than the jumping spiders I usually see.

Also I just found this today on one of my rose leaves



I thought it was some kind of nasty cocoon at first, but when I was about to scrape it off, I noticed it had some very spider-looking legs. Can't get a good picture, though. My camera always hates white things.

[Tindomul]

Funny enough, I just caught one black jumping spider of the same species two days ago. I trapped and put it into one of my terrariums where it is munching on fruit flies.
I'm pretty sure it is Phidippus audax, the bold jumping spider.