Body divided into two distinct parts All have poison fangs
Many spiders are to be found on Crane’s Beach. Most are small, harmless, and difficult to identify. However, some of the general groups may be readily recognized:
Sheet-web Spiders (Linyphiidae): A small spider, usually less than a quarter of an inch long. Its sheetlike web identifies it.
Orb-weaving Spiders (Argiopidae): All of these spiders build their webs like a wheel with radiating spokes. The Orange-and-Black Garden Spider (Miranda aurantia), a large species infesting grassy places in the fall, is typical of the group.
Crab Spiders (Thomisidae): The Crab Spiders do not construct webs, but their crablike shape and the fact that they walk sidewise will identify them.
Wolf Spiders (Lycosidae): This spider hunts its prey instead of building a web and waiting for its meal to happen along. Wolf Spiders are often large and quite hairy. The holes you find in the sand dunes are nurseries constructed by the female Sand Dune Wolf Spider (Lycosa pikei).
Jumping Spiders (Attidae): “Jumpers” have a rather fat body that is heavily covered with hair. They too hunt their prey, often jumping several inches to capture it.
Creatures with More Than Eight Legs
Sow Bugs (Isopoda)
Flat, segmented body Less than ten pairs of legs
The Sow Bug, commonly called the “Pill Bug,” is usually found hiding under a damp log. It is completely innocuous and will often roll into a ball when disturbed.
Centipedes (Chilopoda)