Florida has a rich diversity of spiders that vary greatly in body shape, size, color, hunting strategy, and habitat. While spiders are often feared, they are generally non-aggressive and provide essential ecosystem services, such as controlling pest insects in homes, gardens, and agricultural crops. This downloadable educational coloring book focused on spiders provides a creative way for people of all ages to appreciate the beauty and intrigue of spiders. It accompanies An introduction to Some Common and Charismatic Florida Spiders, a fact sheet highlighting some of the most commonly encountered spiders in Florida and some less common, but particularly charismatic, groups. The fact sheet, available at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN1366, provides information on species biology along with images and descriptions for spiders across 15 families.
Figure 1.Coloring with Spiders cover image. Credit: Samm Wehman
This document is ENY2080-A, one of a series of the Entomology and Nematology Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date March 2023. Visit the EDIS website at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu for the currently supported version of this publication. This publication accompanies An introduction to Some Common and Charismatic Florida Spiders, a fact sheet highlighting some of the most commonly encountered spiders in Florida and some less common, but particularly charismatic, groups. The fact sheet, available at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN1366, provides information on species biology along with images and descriptions for spiders across 15 families.
About the Authors
Samm Wehman Epstein, former manager of the Taylor Lab, Entomology and Nematology Department; and Lisa A. Taylor, assistant research scientist, Entomology and Nematology Department and Florida Museum of Natural History; UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, Florida 32611.
