Please help me identify this spider?

Question

i was hiking in the woods in northern michigan and i found this spider it was red but more pink all over, it was about the size of a quarter, it had a huge butt and a white circle mark on it. it also looked somewhat taranchula like.when i went to go poke it it went into a protective stance it kind of went up on its hind legs and had the other ones up in the air. what is it?

Answer 1

That's "Dave", he used to live above my parents' garage door, we've been wondering what happened to him, did he look well?, did you ask him how his wife Marjorie is keeping?. That white circle isn't an indigenous marking, that's his target tattoo, he's a big fan of The Who.

Answer 2

It seems as though you're describing a common wolf spider, which, unlike normal house spiders that web high in a corner, makes a burrow in the ground and hunts its prey at night.  They get fairly large, and the one you saw was probably a female (they are larger than the males).  It went into a defensive posture when you poked it, quite normal, considering how big you are, and the fact that spiders have poor eyesight.  This defense posture is what they do prior to biting as a last resort, so it's the spider's way of telling you to go away.

Answer 3

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question, but that spider would FREAK me out. Ohmygoodness you are brave. I freak out over small house spiders. I hope you find your answer.

Answer 4

There is not enough information for me to identify your spider so here is a picture of them all.  If you find the right spider just click on the picture and it will provide you with more information.  It does not have sizes for spiders on this site but you can look it up further if you find your spider.

http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&k...