Spiders of the KZN South Coast
The KZN South Coast, including Pennington, is home to a vast and fascinating diversity of spider species. While many people are wary of them, the vast majority of spiders are harmless to humans and play an incredibly important role in our ecosystem. They are voracious predators of insects like mosquitoes and flies, helping to keep pest populations in check naturally.
Having spiders in your garden is a positive sign of a healthy, balanced environment. Below are two excellent, informative posters provided by the Spider Club of Southern Africa that can help you identify common species and understand which few require caution. Remember, spiders are not aggressive and will only bite in self-defense. It is always best to treat them with respect and relocate them safely if necessary.
15 Common Garden Spiders in South Africa
Medically Important Spiders of South Africa
Spiders of Pennington
A list of spider species observed in the Pennington area, automatically populated from our community sightings database. Use the links to jump to a section, or scroll to browse.
African Mask spider
Synema imitatrix
Synema imitatrix is a species of crab spider in the family Thomisidae. It is endemic to eastern and southern Africa.
Read more on Wikipedia →
Banded Synema's Crab Spider
Synema diana
No description available.
Bandyleg Fisheating Spider
Nilus curtus
No description available.
Baryphas Jumping Spider
Baryphas ahenus
No description available.
Biscuit Boxkite
Isoxya tabulata
Isoxya tabulata is a species of spider in the family Araneidae. It is found in Africa and is commonly known as the yellow Isoxya box kite spider.
Read more on Wikipedia →
Bum-eyed Spider
Bijoaraneus legonensis
Bijoaraneus legonensis is a species of orb-weaver spider in the family Araneidae. It is found in Ghana, South Africa, and Thailand.
Read more on Wikipedia →
Common Bark Spider
Caerostris sexcuspidata
Caerostris sexcuspidata aka the common bark spider occurs in Southern Africa, and on islands off the east coast of Africa, such as Madagascar, the Comores and Aldabra Island. It is a nocturnal orb-web spider, the female constructing a large orb web some 1.5 metres across, stretching between trees or shrubs. Its dorsal surface is cryptically coloured with horny projections which aid in camouflage; legs are drably coloured seen from above and clearly zebra-striped when viewed from...
Read more on Wikipedia →
Eastern Whipspider
Damon annulatipes
No description available.
Hyllus argyrotoxus
Hyllus argyrotoxus
No description available.
Ladybird Crab Spider
Camaricus nigrotesselatus
Camaricus nigrotesselatus is a species of crab spider in the family Thomisidae. It is commonly known as the ladybird crab spider. The species is found in Southern Africa.
Read more on Wikipedia →
Longleg Dandy
Portia schultzi
Portia schultzi is a jumping spider which ranges from South Africa in the south to Kenya in the north, and also is found in West Africa and Madagascar. In this species, which is slightly smaller than some other species of the genus Portia, the bodies of females are 5 to 7 mm long, while those of males are 4 to 6 mm long. The carapaces of both sexes are orange-brown with dark brown mottling, and covered with dark...
Read more on Wikipedia →
Phintella aequipes
Phintella aequipes
No description available.
Thyene ogdeni
Thyene ogdeni
No description available.
Transvaal sun jumping spider
Trapezocephalus transvaalicus
No description available.
Tucker's Crab Spider
Ansiea tuckeri
Ansiea tuckeri is a species of crab spider in the genus Ansiea. It is found across Africa and serves as the type species for its genus. The species is commonly known as Tucker's crab spider.
Read more on Wikipedia →
Vicirionessa mustela
Vicirionessa mustela
No description available.
Wrinkled Birddung Crabspider
Phrynarachne rugosa
No description available.