Controlling insect populations in and around houses, gardens, and crops, spiders are highly beneficial.įishing Spider (Dolomedes spp.), Back Creek, Annapolis, Maryland, September 2018. Others, such as the Black Widow Spider and the Brown Recluse, pose a greater health risk and any bite must be treated immediately. While many spiders in Maryland are venomous, most pose little danger to humans and will only bite in self-defense. Hanks.īrown spider (right), Baltimore, Maryland, July 2014. Spiders are predatory, using their pincers to hold their prey and then injecting it with venom.Ĭommon House Spider (left), Baltimore, Maryland, August 2015. Unlike other arachnids, spiders have segmented bodies and four pairs of eyes.

Depending on the species, mites can be either highly beneficial or very destructive to crops.īlack & Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia), Glen Burnie, Maryland, August 2014. Some, such as the Clover Mite, however, also can lay eggs in sidewalk cracks. On the underside of leaves or within the plant, they lay their eggs. They are very small, with some nearly microscopic. Generally they have eight legs, though a few species and the juveniles may have fewer. Members of the subclass Acarina, mites have a small head and a much larger body. They include harvestmen (also known as 'Daddy long-legs'), mites, scorpions, spiders, and ticks. Maryland Arachnids MARYLAND AT A GLANCE WILDLIFE ARACHNIDSĪrachnids (class Arachnida) are joint-legged invertebrates with eight legs.

Nocturnal spiders