Eastern parson spider ID on iNat

I started going through identification of one of my favorite species that comes into my home on a regular basis, Eastern Parson Spider. I usually call this spider the harbinger of spring because it often shows up in my home around the Spring Equinox.

Though the 74 pages of needs ID seemed daunting, what I found most interesting was what was most often misidentified. The most common misidentification were members of the Brush legged spiders (Schizocosa) each new page seemed to have at least one and it was immediately obvious because the background was either sand or forest floor, whereas parson spider backgrounds were often walls, carpets, glass and plastic containers and in one case a cardboard tube.

Other misidentifications included other gnaphosids, dwarf spiders, immature fishing spiders, wolf spiders, sac spiders and ant mimics.

Also thanks to @jgw_atx for helping me remember Schizocosa.

Posted on Ιούνιος 24, 2023 0229 ΜΜ by matt227