Spiders in Hawaii Are Harmless

Many of the spiders in Hawaii look frightening but are actually harmless. There are many different types of spiders in Hawaii but the most common are cane spiders, crab spiders, and banana spiders. The Hawaiian spider pictured here is the banana spider or  otherwise called Argiope appensa. The Hawaiian cane spider is common in sugar cane fields and is the largest of the Hawaiian spiders (about the size of a tuna can). It is also one of the most "scary" looking because people fear it as a brown recluse. There have been a few isolated case of brown recluse in Hawaii, but by and large they are pretty rare. Probably  the most unique of the Hawaiian spiders is the Hawaiian blind spider found deep in Hawaiian lava tubes. Overall there are no real poisonous spiders in Hawaii so rest assured that even if it looks terrifying it is really just hanging loose eating bugs.

Comments

[kelly]

well i can attest to the fact that there are DEFINATELY Brown Recluse Spiders in Hawaii... I was just bitten by one (and it has been a long road to recovery)... as a victim... now everyone i come in contact with here in kona seems to know someone who was also bitten.. and you lose chunks of flesh with this... it is unforgiving... even with the best of care (my husband and his sister are physicians on the island, and his golfing buddy is the surgeon) recovery has still been painful and long ... beware!

[Emily]

There are no real brown recluses here in Hawaii but we do have the cousin-the mediterreanean recluse which causes just as nasty of a bite. We also have black widows.

[Paul]

When my father was in the service in the 50's in hawaii, he became

terrified of some large spiders he

told me were either in a bunker or

some other hole in the ground he had to work in. He has since passed away. I have always been curious what type of spider this could have been.