Classifying and Identifying Spiders - Spider Basics: Beyond the Eight Legs, Episode 4

[@NewMessage]

It's like listening to a quantum physics lecture... I'm not gonna remember anything specific, but I _feel_ smarter.

[@swedneck]

the kind of thing you watch in the hope that one day when you most need it, your brain will randomly recall the vital information in vivid detail and it saves the day or more likely you'll go "oh hey i think that's a.. it's a spider that hunts on the ground at least!"

[@oO0catty0Oo]

Me watching PBS Spacetime. Haha. I just keep hoping I'll get smarter

[@NewMessage]

​@@oO0catty0Oo Same.... every time they upload. I'm proud to think that they went from thinking my comments were written by a dolt, to thinking my comments are written by a well informed dolt. I should print a certificate.

[@kentworch]

I don't even want to get started about entanglement and why gravity doesn't work in quantum physics here.

[@paintedwings74]

I love the extras in your video today. Please thank them for their spell-casting demonstrations!

[@travismcenery2919]

Done! I think Spencer and Nancy had a lot of fun making those clips.

[@MyWildBackyard]

This one was a masterpiece. You nailed the depth of information but you made it an incredibly fun watch. Well done man, well done.

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks so much man! It's q bit tough to convince anyone that taxonomy can be interesting but it actually IS.

[@darcieclements4880]

Is there one about widows and the ridiculous strength in the silk? I am dealing with a widow that moved in and I cannot get over how strong the silk is. Also I love that this guy has a free roaming giant orb weaver, lol. My best spider identification book is from the '50s and is huge so I am going to be picking up those recommended books and I will use the link because I really appreciate it. Finding good spider books is not easy!

[@NewMessage]

"The Space Web Weavers" sounds like it should have been my favorite after school cartoon as a kid.

[@iDEATH]

That's a good one! I was thinking a retrowave band. I suppose my band could've made the intro theme music to your cartoon, though. xD

[@fizzplease6742]

That fact about the poor stinky weed being named as an insult was great. And as well as wizard spells, there are some funny names for living critters and archeology too. There’s a fungus out there called Spongiforma squarepantsii cause of a passing resemblence to a well known fictional sponge.

[@Lambda_Ovine]

My favorite is the wasp named "Aha ha"

[@MadMeeper]

I did NOT expect to get herpetology taxonomy tea in the middle of a spider lesson, which just fills me with glee considering herpetology is my favorite subject. Love the videos! Thanks for putting these together.

[@Just1Nora]

Unrelated to classification, but something fascinating, I think I was watching cellar spider courtship the other night! They were plucking silk, tapping their feet on each other's legs and feet, and advancing and retreating. I watched them for half an hour! 😅 They didn't start up until the flashlight hit them, and they seemed to pause anytime it was off them. She already had an egg sac she was guarding, and at first, I thought, "Oh man is he dumb to try to come into her web when she's guarding eggs," but then I remembered that she keeps the sac in her fangs when on high alert, so her fangs would be occupied. I fell asleep, and the smaller spider was gone by the morning, as well as the slings hatched! She's guarding them now. They're really good mothers.

[@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat]

Wow... that's so cool. Did anyone come in and ask you what you were doing? "I'm just watching spiders do jiggy jiggy." "Eww, gross... I wanna watch too. Move over. Oh wow, we gotta try that move. That looks like it would feel good." "I'm getting worked up. Honey, go turn off the light." "No, let's leave the light on and do what they do." "You are a freak and I love you for that."

[@Just1Nora]

@@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat See, this is why I don't usually post my odd behaviors. If you're not an "actual scientist" then things like, "you freak" "sexual deviant" and "get out of the gas station bathroom" get said, and that's just hurtful. I was first interested to see if it was a territory battle as I'd hate to see one of the big mamas get injured or killed, especially with babies on the way. They're my helpful little housemates! I probably care more for them than most people would even think to. File it under: "Weird autistic crap," I guess. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@markpell8979]

Here's to being less wronger. And my jumping spider friends like the idea of belonging to a guild.

[@JonnyPsyclo]

So good! This channel single handedly stopped me just killing random spiders I had in my house and started her taking an interest in them!

[@travismcenery2919]

That is so great to hear, thanks for sharing that! I'm happy I was able to spark an interest!

[@JonnyPsyclo]

​@@travismcenery2919 how do I email/send you some pictures? I have a type of spider in my house that I don't know what they are and nearly every room has them!

[@mareikedaubert1139]

There is a story I was told as an undergrad: In Central Europe, there is this weed that smells a bit ... funny. The name is Geranium robertianum. The story is that it was named by Linné after a colleague with, let's say, similar olfactory properties. An extension of the story is that he later named a fern (Gymnocarpium robertianum) after the same guy as an apology. (Yes, the fern smells signifanctly better.)

[@travismcenery2919]

Haha! There really are some funny scientific names out there, and I'm sure there are actually a lot of funny stories behind some of them.

[@mecynogea]

I can totally vouch for Sarah Rose's Book mentioned here. That book is loaded with information.

[@dwightmansburden7722]

Loved the nerdy wizard battle, hahaha! I see you have a nice collection of spiders, too. How about a tour of your setup? Great content 👍🏻

[@souplike.homogenate]

Episode IV: A New Hope (for Spiders)

[@SameWindowDifferentVisual]

Turns out I had an uloborid on my nightstand this whole time and I wouldn't have known without this video. Thanks for helping people discover such cool spiders and spotlight ones most people overlook.

[@dwlammon]

Always learning to be less wronger, when I see one of your videos. Thanks again for the knowledge.

[@joylederman4501]

What a thrill to see the new spider ID video. Love your sense of humor, Travis!

[@strmgdn]

These videos could be six hours long and I’d stay glued to the screen. LOVE the content!

[@alungiggs]

Another awesome video. Thank you. 👍🇳🇱

[@sleepy_boy888]

I love your videos, I always learn something new

[@Greg41982]

I was that guy who once lectured a student on not capitalizing the s in S. pyogenes in his hospital progress note... I'm older now...

[@writerinrwanda]

That was fascinating, thank you. Especially that bit about the diving bell spider. Loved the wizard sketches 😄 There was an article in the UK the other week about conservation efforts bringing back the fen raft spider from the brink of extinction. Apparently, they can 'walk on water and grow to be the size of a rat.' 😮

[@travismcenery2919]

Glad you enjoyed it! And it's fantastic to see that conservation efforts can actually work.

[@jessecollins9838]

This was a terrific video. I learned a lot and hope to learn more.

[@cds3703]

I always say “SP”, I would never have guessed the experts say “sp-UH”

[@dg6438]

Another absolutely stellar video! Thanks!

[@travismcenery2919]

Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the comment!

[@atlas16198]

0:52 love the muskrat slander

[@Therzis]

Another awesome video as always! Just one note, southern house spiders do ensare prey with their webs, and they are pretty good at it! They have gorgeously complex cribellate webs that are not just good at catching but also at keeping the prey on the web for a really long time. You have no idea how sticky their webs are until you hold some of it, it's honestly pretty impressive

[@kentworch]

Nice and informative video as always, and I got one of those beautiful yellow gardens orb weavers in the bushes next to my back porch. I can't remember get close enough to tell exactly what genus or species, but I've been avoiding trimming the bushes because I want her to stick around. I don't want to disturb her web. I've been watching her grow for about a month or so. Anyway, thank you for everything you do. Less wronger is more better 👍

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks so much for the comment, and it's wonderful to hear you've got one of the yellow orb weavers! Orb weavers in general are wonderful spiders.

[@kentworch]

@@travismcenery2919 I definitely agree, they certainly are. She's a beautiful spider, and I haven't seen as many of these spiders in recent years as I did a while back. I used to love having these and similar spiders on the front porch on Halloween as a very real and alive spider was always much better than a fake decoration to me. I never put the spiders there, I just made sure nobody ever knocked their webs down. I would just hand the candy out to the trick or treaters while sitting under or next to the spider in its web and make sure nobody disturbed it. Anyway I really haven't been seeing them much lately, and the one in the bushes next to the back porch is the first one I've seen in a couple years. I used to get 3 to 5 per year back in the day. Definitely an amazing spider, and really hate not having them around like they used to be.

[@cathiapizetta4957]

Amazing Travis! Thank you!❤

[@AceOfSpadesX]

One of the best channels I've found lately. I don't even particularly care about spiders but I keep watching these videos over and over

[@USchyldt]

Excellent video, as always!

[@amicaaranearum]

13:32 I do find it interesting that _Kukulcania_ was placed in the sensing web guild rather than the sheet web guild. I don’t know about other filistatids, but I have observed _Kukulcania_ extensively, and their webs do play a role in prey capture - not just alerting the spider to the presence of prey. They are cribellate spiders, so their silk comes out in thousands of fine threads, which they fray with a special comb (the calamistrum) on their fourth legs. The resulting silk is very sticky (mechanically) despite not using any glue. Prey insects become entangled in the silk, buying the spider enough time to decide whether to attack (they know when something is too big), approach the prey, bite it, and wrap it up.

[@gastllyxo]

Yess I got the spider bible a while ago after your suggestion and it’s such a good read. I gotta dive deeper for sure

[@Alterraboo]

I would love to see a video on crab spiders and the fascinating color changing mechanism of Misumena vatia.

[@ToniosPlaylist]

Awesome, I still love your videos! You're starting with a joke (cars) and then pulling the watchers in the topic, it's just great! Question!: Is there something like the book "spiders of america" just for europe? Can you recommend sth?

[@osmia]

15:18 Woodlouse Hunter! I want those in my garden!

[@ananiasodivilas-w9s]

Love the video and learned a lot, thank you very much! Can't wait for the next video.

[@Socksquash]

The “like” button is not strong enough. Where is the “ignited my new obsession” button?

[@travismcenery2919]

Aww, thanks!

[@smottybacon7509]

this is the one nerdy science video i can understand and watch intently in one sitting

[@roswellsoup]

genuinely this was such a wonderful video. as someone who really really adores spiders & insects, and SPECIFICALLY identifying them, it was so refreshing and exciting to see a taxonomy video that was engaging and funny!! I feel like it’s very hard to find educational youtube videos on this subject that aren’t incredibly old, boring lectures- this video really brought me a lot of joy!! Thank you💛💛💛

[@petebeatminister]

The exact identification of animals is always a very challenging task. As we know today, there are probably millions of different species on this planet - but many are not very different. And especially insects (and spiders, and other tiny creatures) are difficult to identify by only just looking at them with the bare eye. For example, there are a estimated 380,000 beetle species - but many look identical until you disect them and look at the parts under a microscope. And even then its not possible to make a clear identification until a DNA analysis is made in some cases. So I'd say for a layman its sufficient to know the family or so, and such books as shown can be good tool for that.

[@darcieclements4880]

Sometimes you get lucky and can know which species it is based on where it was found, behaviors or what the surrounding habitat is like. But yeah most of the time be happy with family and ecstatic with genus.

[@stanleyhyde8529]

I like the idea of guild "classification" as a means of getting a general idea about what's in a given area. I've been using it as a means of figuring out the kinds of spiders are around for years and never really thought about it. Even if you never see the spider in question, you can still get pretty close to what it/they might be though. That said, the giant house spider is the biggest and "scariest" spiders where I live. So while knowing they are around is nice they tend to keep to themselves if you let them and they're not aggressive or all that potent so not finding them isn't much of an issue.

[@evamorineau4997]

hi :D i discovered your channel through your very first video and since then i get super happy when i see that you posted a new one ! you're doing such a great work and every videos of yours are very interesting and fun to watch :) you made me install Spider Spotter on my phone and each time i go outside i try to spot as many spiders as i can (even if at times it irritates my partner because of my frequent pauses in our walks haha). i already added 13 entries in 3 very different spots in the south west of France :D ! i wasn't an arcahnophobe but still wasn't too happy about seeing these critters crawling near me (although as a kid i tried to keep some spiders as pets, don't remember which species) except for jumping spiders and cellar spiders if not too big. but now i research each and every spider i encounter and share my knowledge with my loved ones ! these creatures definitely deserve more love keep up the good work :D ! love from France ♥

[@travismcenery2919]

Thank you so much, and it's great to hear all of this! It's fantastic that more people are learning to appreciate these creatures, and contribute to our understanding of them.

[@turdgoblin6113]

I would absolutely love, if you did a video on the "trash line spider"!! Such a unique and different kind of orb weaver!

[@Browncoat7969]

Fascinating indeed

[@mjmal3741]

Another great video! I'm totally going to try taking this approach, my previous wild google chases were less that useful in identification.

[@dispater5023]

Your thumbnail for the video was perfect. Bravo.

[@jessewaidler]

I love your videos. So informative and the format is so natural. If you're interested, I think the Yellow Garden Spider could be a great video. Just came across a very beautiful and large one in my garden today which inspired me to watch more of your videos lol

[@Achilles_Heelys]

another awesome video!! Thank-you for the much needed book recommendations!

[@travismcenery2919]

You're most welcome, and thank you!

[@d2finch]

Awesome.

[@averykempf9164]

Thank you for this super educational gem!

[@13dwyera]

Lol I always pronounced argiope as "arg-E-ope" wonderful vid as always, Travis!

[@RyanNyx]

I wasn't an arachnophobe or anything but this channel has completely changed the way I think about our eight-legged companions. Thank you for this content ♥️🕷️

[@PLUTORAMBO]

Great video as always, Travis!

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks so much!

[@sociallysatanic]

"classifying and identifying spiders doesn't sound that fun at first-" [smashcut to me chomping at the bit and foaming at the mouth bc that is like THE THING i am most interested in right now] 😂

[@travismcenery2919]

Haha! I love your enthusiasm. Hope this helped!

[@generic7916]

Thank you again for my bimonthly amazing spider content Travis!

[@thetwitchywitchy]

oh wow I need this book!!! this is AWESOME!!!!!

[@dshobe720]

Great video again Travis! The ID book by Sarah has allowed me to know what's in my terrarium and bushes outside, totally worth the money!

[@travismcenery2919]

Glad you thought so, and thanks!

[@PaulJonas-q7p]

Thanks Travis I leatn so much from your videos for us spider enthusiast's it's priceless keep doing what you do

[@dawnt7950]

Definitely going to get the book. I have TONS of spiders around my house and am constantly trying to figure out what I’m looking at!!! Thank you!!!

[@malcolmgibson6288]

Yet another great video. Spiders are always welcome in my house

[@krissykolorjunki5304]

Always enjoy your videos!

[@travismcenery2919]

Thanks so much!

[@JustJen1386]

Can’t wait until we get to Part 8 of this series

[@travismcenery2919]

I'm looking forward to it, too. ;)

[@frogz]

sorry you have reached the end of comments, go back and read in the other direction!

[@Hokiesnumber1]

Raymond Hoser is now my personal hero 🤣

[@travismcenery2919]

Let's not go imitating him, though... I sort of wish I'd been able to get more into the impacts of taxonomic vandalism. It has effects when species are protected by legislation - then someone changes the name, and is suddenly able to collect them and sneak them past borders because they're no longer called what the legislation called them... it can cause very real problems. That said, there is something impressive about his nonsense.

[@elizabethmichealson1988]

I have a pond so have come to appreciate they like the environment and ecosystem.

[@XalvandorsNest]

Recently did a deep dive into all of this because of cat-faced spider kicking it outside a window at my apartment. Shes huge. And looks so metal. Im fond of her for like no reason at all, and I'm not huge on spiders. This journey has been fascinating. Thinking about naming her Nova

[@DannyOccoquan]

I grew up terrified of spiders. As a teenager I studied them trying to overcoming the phobia, and it worked. My dad was a librarian at NCSU, and I read every book on spiders in their collection, pretty slim pickings back in the early 70s but good info nonetheless, albeit occasionally a bit dated. One anecdote from the 20s or 30s on SW US tarantulas told of a guy lying on his back working on his car. A tarantula fell on his face, didn't bite him, but he developed a horrible skin rash. The expert pooh-poohed the notion that the spider was responsible--urticating hairs apparently not yet having been recognized and described. Another pointed out the fact that almost all black widow bites occur to men when they sit to use an outhouse in the summer, a whole new meaning to "How's it hanging?"

[@tomtomlin3408]

I love your channel. I just ran across some videos on Hyptiotes cavatus, the slingshot spider. Amazing, might be an interesting subject. Thanks for all the content....

[@Lol0Wut]

Woohoo spoder vid!

[@henningbauer7617]

Another great video! I own (and frequently use) Rose's excellent book, but when it comes to spider identification, I find it quite a challenge to see the eyes of all but the largest specimens (okay, excepting salticidae). They don't usually accommodate close inspection with magnifying glasses or the like, and I certainly would not want to coerce them in any way.

[@vasilisablud]

I love this channel so much

[@michaelnancyamsden7410]

Very very good stuff !

[@amicaaranearum]

Thanks for the book recommendations. I’ve been looking for a user-friendly key to family. I have Spiders of North America: An Identification Manual, which has keys to 600 genera (and gives the etymology of many genus names, which is a nice touch). But as you noted, many of these keys require a microscope to follow.

[@TheKalash]

You trailed of a bit in the 2nd quarter, but really pulled it back in the end. Brilliant video. I'll share it!

[@travismcenery2919]

Hehe, I think I knew it too... but glad I was able to pull it together for you. Thanks for the comment, and the shares!

[@beingsarcastic4509]

I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS, I WOULD LOVE EVEN MORE TO SEE YOU TALK MORE IN DEPTH ABOUT TARANTLUAS PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE

[@iapetusmccool]

19:17: which is approproate, as "The Spider Guild" does sound like the title of a Choose Your Own Adventure novel.

[@travismcenery2919]

IT TOTALLY DOES. I didn't even think of that.

[@insectilluminatigetshrekt5574]

4:09 Megacheira mentioned!

[@pinkdoobie]

Any chance you could recommend a book for the Mediterranean or Europe?

[@PaulJonas-q7p]

Travis some of the spider footage is fantastic did you film that?

[@kyliecunnington7711]

Ok I hope I never lose my sight. The fine details of a spider are so so hard to see with really good eyesight and the naked eye. My personal comfort with spiders is "you don't wana mess with me and I don't wanna mess with you" so what I see is entirely up to how the spider behaves and what it decides to show me. But the fangs, those are so so hard to see. I can see the bite action clearly, but never the fangs inserted. Doesn't help they bite the prey fast.

[@lonk2026]

i recently started going through the spiders subreddit to try to get better at trying to id spiders, and ive definitely started to recognize different families. i have trouble telling apart araneidae and neascona, but i can tell its an orb weaver and that usually is enough for someone asking if its dangerous. ill have to consult my spiders of north america book (thanks for the recommendation, its great) more

[@travismcenery2919]

I have trouble separating the orb weavers, too, and even arachnologists will tell you Araneids can be tricky. Particularly distinguishing between Neoscona and Araneus. I can usually spot Larinioides fairly easily.

[@Error_404_Account_Deleted]

A dedicated video on the “American Grass Spider” would be fantastic ✌️

[@Gabriel-e5g3e]

You should cover the really freaky looking tropical ones with horns and spikes coming off of them. Many different ones, some have kinda pointy backs like certain beetles. One specific type have weird horn-shaped worm-like thingies… I’m pretty sure they’re well known solely because they look so odd.

[@5isalivegaming72]

Sooo excited!!

[@nutsandy7183]

Any UK book recommendations?

[@mikeycage1587]

I miss, "These are the spiders in your house" lol

[@travismcenery2919]

Oh, it's not gone! Still working through species.

[@rachieebeee]

i recently got a few spider books because i finally found a book store that actually had them. i have a small little field one called Spiders of Australia by Volker W. Framenau and Melissa L. Thomas which i've been using to try and remember scientific names more easily. then i have a A Field Guide to Australian Spiders by Robert Whyte and Greg Anderson which is a lot bigger and has really cool photos of super cool spiders. there are some super pretty wolf spiders in Australia, Like Hoggicosa bicolor and Tasmanicosa ramosa. i've also got Spiders of the World: A Natural History edited by Norman I. Platnick, which I haven't been able to read yet but I am looking forward to seeing cool spiders from outside Australia haha. really hoping i'll be able to remember more names after because i'm bad enough with normal human names, latin ones have not been easy to learn.

[@windowpanememberrrr]

YES IM SO EXCITED

[@MrHavadollar]

Theory: Your argiope won't use the frame if it's open on both sides to the light. Almost all spiders that have ventral shade coloration will position themselves against a dark backdrop on one side with only one side exposed to a direct source of light. Not great for camera lights, although you could try a green screen, keeping the camera in the dark portion of the room and then video edit it the bright green to black. I don't know if you've done that yet. Anyway, I loved this video, Travis. The Spiders of North America book is second on my Christmas wish list. I have to put things there that my family will buy because otherwise they won't know what I actually want. I imagine you're the same. Future joke, "Like this video to identify the spider in the dungeon, then turn to page 11." "pg. 11 - Subscribe to delve deeper into the darkness, turn to page 20." "pg. 20 - Join us on Patreon to turn to page 38 and take the handle of the magic sword called *Shortcut* and enjoy more content."

[@travismcenery2919]

I love the choose-your-own-adventure idea here! And that's an interesting theory about web construction and light sources - I'll watch for this pattern. Glad you liked the video, and thanks for the comment!

[@pattersondh]

Hey Travis! I live in an area where there are Joro spiders. I know everyone finds them interesting, and since they're *everywhere* at the moment, I would be happy to send you some.

[@jtktomb8598]

It's important to note that guild have little taxonomical values, but are an ecological classification

[@adriannabcustomfurniture]

So I have a question and I'd appreciate any type of input! I have an 11 year old daughter with special needs. She actually doesn't mind spiders (unlike her father 😂) but if one were to get on her, she wouldn't be able to get it off her. She also has very thick curly hair. She has a few health conditions as well. Needless to say, I get worried about them crawling on her and her not being able to get the spider off and it going in her hair, mouth or something when she's sleeping. She wouldn't even notice. I know spiders (especially ones here in CT, USA) aren't really dangerous, but I have found false widows here. We actually have a few jumping spiders as "pets'", as well as for learning during homeschool. With her health issues, I know a spider bite for her will probably be different than for me or my husband. I don't really mind spiders being up in the corners in different rooms of our home (don't tell my husband I leave them alone) or above the windows and such. I do however want to know a way I can keep them out of her room and playroom/homeschool area...without killing the spiders, if possible. I don't like the idea of killing them, spraying anything, etc... when I do find them where I don't want them, I put them outside. I just get worried when she's in one of those rooms by herself, sleeping, etc... any ideas? Sorry for the long comment. Lol.

[@travismcenery2919]

It can definitely be tricky, and I understand the concern. About the best you can do is ensure that there's no food source (prey insects) that are in that room, and remove and relocate spiders as you find them. The active hunters will roam, and there's honestly not a lot you can do about that, but you can watch for the sacs of sac spiders where the wall meets the ceiling, watch for webs, that kind of thing.

[@darcieclements4880]

​​@@travismcenery2919 cellar spiders will eat other spiders and are very low profile and uninclined to bite and honestly most of them are too small to bite to begin with it's just every now and then you get one large enough that could hypothetically bite. I had one tried to bite me once It didn't do very much. Anyhow since they eat other spiders they're very good to put in doorways and windows to keep the other ones out. The one that got upset at me was the only one that I've ever picked up pincher style and honestly these things are pretty tough I've rolled over them in my sleep multiple times and somehow they're still fine😂

[@ichthyovenator3351]

I loved this video! Easy to understand and now I wanna ID some spiders. Though I will say that phylogeny/cladistics>Linnaean taxonomy

[@travismcenery2919]

Hehe! It gets super-complicated. Glad you liked the video, though, and thanks for the comment!

[@gcrauwels941]

I didn't know they actually say 'spuh', bruh. 😂 Great job as always.

[@MyRegularNameWasTaken]

I never knew "sp." was pronounced out loud as "spuh". I've always said the full, "species".

[@travismcenery2919]

I mean, I don't think that's a "technically correct" way of doing it - actually saying "species" is the formal expression, I think - but informally, especially when we're frustrated and have just given up, it's kind of a wave of the hand and a "Whatever, just label it Araneus spuh".

[@joemama1132]

I keep finding fiddlebacks running around my house. Wish me luck 😭

[@eroraf8637]

Sorry that you’re having problems with Loxosceles, But just remember, you’ll be alright! (As long as you don’t squeeze it…)

[@laurencegagniuc4806]

Oh boy, I'm finally early

[@himanshuwilhelm5534]

Any chance you can cover Araneus gemmoides? 'Cat face spider' I have them in Arizona, and they weave beautiful orb webs with golden silk.

[@whiskey6964]

can you do a video on the Scotophaeus blackwalli - Mouse Spider ? pretty sure i caught one last night, other than visually identifying it (i know its not recommended) I believe I also identified it by behavior

[@potatopotato2635]

this video it's like you read my mind!!!! thank you for the book recommendations!!!! i'm definitely going to get at least one of those books. tell me, how do you feel about spider identification on reddit? I go on r/spiders sometimes, is a facebook group a better option?

[@travismcenery2919]

What I've seen on reddit isn't terrible, but I've found FB a little better. The anonymity of reddit is kind of a weakness there, while there are quite a few known experts who frequent the FB groups.