What kinds of spiders can you find in Angola?

Many people are terrified of spiders and find them extremely creepy. This is unfortunate because not only are most spiders completely harmless, they benefit our environment by controlling the insect population. In fact, without spiders, our food supply would be in serious jeopardy.

Before we begin, I want you to know that the list below is just a fraction of the spiders in Angola. Because of the sheer number of these arachnids, it would be impossible to cover them all. For example, some estimates claim over 50,000 kinds of spiders on the planet (and the list is still growing)!

In today’s article, I did my best to develop a list of spiders you’re most likely to see.

7 common SPIDERS in Angola!

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#1. Hairy Golden Orb-weaving Spider

• Trichonephila fenestrata

Also known as the Tufted Golden Orb-weaving spider.

Identifying Characteristics:

• Their coloring is predominantly yellow with black patterns.
• The legs are dark brown or black with hairy middle parts (brushes).
• Females are 20-40 mm (0.8-1.5 in). Males are 5-6 mm (0.19-0.23 in).

Look for this spider in Angola in wooded areas where they can make their web and catch prey easily.

Hairy Golden Orb-weaving Spiders makes elaborate flat webs of concentric circles and spokes from the center. Their webs can reach up to 1 meter (3 feet) in diameter. The silk has a yellowish color, which serves two functions: in the sun, bees are attracted to the color, and in the shade, it blends in with the surrounding vegetation.

Male Hairy Golden Orb-weaving Spiders have an unusual tactic to survive mating, which is typically dangerous for spiders. During mating, the male sacrifices one of its front legs as a snack for the female. This behavior increases the chances of successful mating while decreasing the chances of the male being eaten by the female. And you think dating is hard for humans!

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#2. Banded-legged Golden Orb-web Spider

• Trichonephila senegalensis

Also called the Giant Wood Spider or Banana Spider.

Identifying Characteristics:

• The spider’s name refers to its joints’ characteristic golden yellow color.
• Females are bright yellow with a dark pattern in the middle and reach 30 to 40 mm (1.1-1.5 in).
• Males have the same color pattern but are usually paler and ten times smaller than females.

The Banded-legged Golden Orb-web Spider is usually found in Angola in warm, humid gardens, open forests, grasslands, and savannas.

These spiders weave beautiful, sturdy, golden-colored webs. They can regulate the amount of pigment and stickiness in their webs to adapt to their environment. Interestingly, the females keep food supplies on their webs. Up to 15 insects are carefully arranged and wrapped in silk to prevent deterioration of the prey.

Male Banded-legged Golden Orb-web Spiders often linger near the edge of the female’s web. When he is ready to mate, he will tap on the edge of the web to ensure that the female is in a good mood and bring her food as courtship. Then, while the female is eating, he will approach quietly, inject his semen into her abdomen and flee as soon as possible to avoid being eaten.

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#3. African Hermit Spider

• Nephilingis cruentata

Identifying Characteristics:

• Females grow up to 25 mm (1 in). Their bodies are elongated and pointed, bright yellow near the head and dark brown near the back.
• Males grow only up to 4 mm (0.15 in).
• The legs of both sexes are a combination of brown, red, and black.

African Hermit Spiders get their common name from building funnel-shaped retreats on the side of their webs. They hide out in the funnels during the daytime, emerging at night to hunt.

Their asymmetrical webs are usually found on trees and bushes in tropical and subtropical climates. African Hermit Spiders live close to people and can be spotted in manufactured structures on walls and roofs. But don’t worry, this fearsome-looking spider isn’t dangerous to humans!

If you find an African Hermit Spider in Africa, it’s most likely a female. That’s because the males are so small they’re hardly ever spotted. In fact, they have the greatest sexual dimorphism of any spider in Angola. Females are up to 14 times bigger than males and up to 70 times heavier.

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#4. Gray Wall Jumping Spider

• Menemerus bivittatus

Identifying Characteristics:

• This species has a flattened torso and short, thick, greyish-white hair. Tufts of dark brown hair grow close to the eyes.
• The male has a brownish-white stripe on each side of the abdomen and a black dorsal stripe.
• The female has a larger abdomen and is typically lighter brown. In addition, her abdomen is rimmed with broad black stripes that come together at the end.
• Both sexes are about 9 mm (0.3 in) long, but males are usually slightly smaller.

The Gray Wall Jumping Spider is native to Angola but has since spread throughout the world. It frequently appears on the exterior of buildings or tree trunks in gardens.

Instead of weaving a web around their prey, the Gray Wall Jumping spider stalks the prey before springing on it to attack. Their wide eyes and visual acuity allow them to easily focus on objects and distinguish between different colors. And, using their exceptional jumping ability, they can seize their prey in the blink of an eye.

Interestingly, male Gray Wall Jumping Spiders can produce sounds as part of courtship behavior. The hairs on their femurs and the teeth on the chelicerae (small claws on the front of the mouth) make clicking noises that attract females. These sounds are too low and quiet for humans to hear, but it isn’t hard to imagine the creepy noise!

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#5. Tropical Tent-web Spider

• Cyrtophora citricola

Identifying Characteristics:

• Females are 10 to 15 mm (0.3-0.5 in) long.
• Males are about 3mm (0.12 in).
• Color variations in females are typical – some are brown, while others have black and white markings on their abdomen. Males are usually solid black.

The Tropical Tent-web Spider makes an unusual web that resembles mesh curtains. Prey is deflected onto the orb-web by a network of threads that support the orb-web and form a tent. This species spends most of its time on its complex web. Each spider has its own space, but they often form large groups with interconnected webs.

These spiders can be hard to find in Angola because they are nocturnal, which keeps them hidden from predators throughout the day. However, they spend most of the night capturing prey, including moths and flies.

Tropical Tent-web spiders catch prey in three distinct phases. In the initial stage, the spider bites or wraps its prey in silk to incapacitate it. Then, they remove it from the web itself and carry the prey to the hub of the web. Finally, once they reach the safety of the center of the web, they consume their meal.

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#6. Shorthorn Kitespider

• Gasteracantha sanguinolenta

Also known as the Thorn spider, the Jewel spider, the Star spider, or the Kite spider.

Identifying Characteristics:

• Females are 8-10 mm (0.31-0.39 in) long. They’re bright cream, white or yellow, red, and black. Their abdomen is usually black at the sides and white at the center, with red spots.
• Males are several times smaller and lack bright coloring.
• Their abdomen is sclerotized (hardened) with four sides and two back spines.

Unlike other spiders in Angola, this species is most commonly seen during winter.

They reproduce in the spring, and the females die after producing the egg sac, leaving the young to grow and disperse on their own.

The Shorthorn Kitespider is mostly found in evergreen forests, woodlands, or shrubby gardens. They use trees to build their webs at least one meter above the ground.

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#7. Southern Baboon Spiders

• Subfamily Harpactirinae

Note: Baboon spiders are a subfamily of tarantulas broadly present on the African continent. Around nine genera and over one hundred species are present in Angola. This section gives general information on the entire group.

Identifying Characteristics:

• This species reaches a maximum length of 15 cm (5.9 in), including the legs.
• Their coloring varies from light brown to dark brown or black. Some species can also have grey, beige, orange, or light yellow colors.
• Hair covers the legs and body.

Southern Baboon Spiders are members of the Tarantula family. These ground-dwelling spiders use their fangs and chelicerae (pincer-like mouth appendages) to dig burrows that they line with silk. Their natural habitats are savanna forests, arid scrublands, and grasslands.

They are vicious hunters, preying on insects, small rodents, reptiles, and just about anything else they can take down. Baboon Spiders lift their front legs to appear bigger and more intimidating when disturbed or threatened. If the threat continues, they will bite and release venom.

The fangs of a Baboon Spider can be more than a centimeter long! As you can imagine, a bite from one can be very painful, and their venom can cause localized swelling. However, it doesn’t pose a major health concern to humans.