The list of Minnesota’s spiders is incomplete at this point in time and new additions are found somewhat regularly.  Some of these new additions were listed as hypothetical species on previous versions of the checklist and are now confirmed while others were not anticipated during the development of the state checklist.    Below you will find the most recent changes.

26 August 2022–An iNaturalist observer found the first record of Neoscona domiciliorum (Hentz, 1847) in Lakeville, MN.  I have been debating whether or not to add this species as a hypothetical for a couple of years.  Now that has been resolved.  The specimen can be seen here.  This record brings the state checklist up to 522.

17 June 2022–A collecting trip to the southwestern corner of the state with my daughter yielded two new state records: Thanatus rubicellus Mello-Leitão, 1929 (seen here) and Theridion dividuum Gertsch & Archer, 1942 (seen here).  Neither were expected in the state with the latter’s known distribution limited to the southeastern U.S.  That brings the state list up to 521.

17 June 2022–A sharp-eyed observer took a picture of a Sergiolus tennesseensis Chamberlin, 1922 at the Scott County Fairgrounds and posted the image to iNaturalist.  It can be viewed here.  This is the 519th species known from Minnesota.  This species is moved from hypothetical to confirmed.

16 June 2022–A spider-collecting trip to the southwestern corner of the state with my daughter yielded the first record of Phrurotimpus certus Gertsch, 1941.  This species is moved from hypothetical to confirmed.  The specimen can be viewed here.  This is the 518th species known from Minnesota.

6 June 2022–A male Scotinella pugnata (Emerton, 1890) was collected during a short trip to Nicollet County.  The specimen can be seen here.  This species was listed as hypothetical previously.  This is the 517th species known from Minnesota.

16 June 2021–A friend found the state’s first Hypsosinga rubens (Hentz, 1847) on his person while hiking in Beltrami State Forest in Lake of the Woods County.  That tiny orbweaver was expected to occur in the state, but no prior records had been documented.  The specimen can be viewed on iNaturalist here.  Thankfully, it was collected and I was able to examine it under a microscope during March 2022.  It represents the 516th species known from Minnesota.

Over the summer of 2021, two records of Eris flava (Peckham & Peckham, 1888) were found by observers and submitted to iNaturalist.  They can be seen here and here.  This species was listed as hypothetical previously.  Another observer on iNaturalist found a highly localized population of Crossopriza lyoni (Blackwall, 1867) in Hennepin County.  That observation can be seen here.

10 June 2021–The Spiders of Minnesota Project on iNaturalist continues to bear fruit.  A stowaway Peucetia viridens(Hentz, 1832) was noteworthy; the specimen can be seen here.  Another observer found the first state record of Cercidia prominens (Westring, 1851) in the Sax-Zim Bog in St. Louis County.  That specimen can be viewed here.  After reworking my database I found another error in my formulas which brought the state total up to 511 species.

18 July 2020–I collected a number of spiders as part of a bioblitz in the Sax-Zim Bog near Cotton, Minnesota.  Amazingly, there were four new state records in the collection which brings the state list up to 508 species.  An adult female Rugathodes aurantius (Emerton, 1915) was a surprise find that did not occur on previous versions of the checklist.  The adult female that was collected can be seen here. A female Scotinotylus pallidus (Emerton, 1882) was previously listed as hypothetical and can be seen here.  A couple of specimens of Piratula cantralli Wallace & Exline, 1978 were collected from sphagnum mats; one can be seen here.  This species was previously listed as hypothetical as was Clubiona kulczynskii Lessert, 1905 which is represented by the specimen seen here.

29 May 2020–My son Gideon accompanied me on a collecting trip to McLeod and Meeker Counties and managed to find the state’s first Platnickina alabamensis (Gertsch & Archer, 1942) behind a piece of bark.  This is the 504th confirmed species in Minnesota.  Images of the specimen can be seen here.  This species was previously listed as hypothetical (and as Theridion alabamensis).

22 February 2020–An observer on iNaturalist found a Hyptiotes cavatus (Hentz, 1847) in Wabasha County back in August.  I didn’t know what it was at the time but thankfully, someone eventually figured it out.  This is the 503rd confirmed species in Minnesota.  It can be seen here.  This species was previously listed as hypothetical in its occurrence.

17 September 2019–Back in August I received several specimens from a friend who had traveled to Grand Marais, MN to see family.  I finally got around to looking at them under a microscope and discovered that one of them was the first state record of Dictyna major Menge, 1869.  An image of the palp can be seen here.  That brings our state total back up to 502 confirmed species.

12 August 2019–While updating the checklist in my spreadsheet, I found some inconsistencies in the formulas and the fixes resulted in an adjustment of the list to 501 confirmed species at this point.

1 August 2019–I collected a few small spiders in Mankato while watching my daughter practice riding her bike in a parking lot.  Amazingly, there were two state records in the haul: Grammonota inornata Emerton, 1882 and Glenognathis foxi (McCook, 1894).  The latter was previously listed as hypothetical.  Images of each of these can be found on BugGuide here and here.  These represent the 501st and 502nd confirmed species in Minnesota.

15 July 2019–During a camping trip with the family a male Soulgas corticarius (Emerton, 1909) was found crawling on a tree trunk in the campsite.  This represents the 500th confirmed species in Minnesota.  Images of this specimen can be viewed on BugGuide here.

2 July 2019–I received a number of specimens from a friend who collected them in northern Minnesota.  A male Pardosa hyperborea (Thorell, 1875) was included with the specimens.  It was found in the Bemis Swamp in the Beltrami Island State Forest.  This species was listed as hypothetical in its occurrence.  Images of this specimen can be seen on BugGuide here and here.  This represents the 499th confirmed species in Minnesota.

21 June 2019–An observer on iNaturalist managed to find a pair of Gea heptagon (Hentz, 1850) in a web in Wabasha County.  This is the 498th confirmed species in Minnesota.  It was formally listed as hypothetical in its occurrence.  Pictures can be seen on iNaturalist here and here.

14 June 2019–Apparently I missed a change in the taxonomy and had a duplicate with both Eperigone trilobata and Mermessus trilobatus both present in the list.  The latter is the current taxonomic nomenclature.  Removing this duplication adjusted the number of confirmed records down to 497 species.

30 May 2019–During a collection trip to Salt Lake in Lac Qui Parle County, I managed to collect a male Glyphesis scopulifer (Emerton, 1882).  I wasn’t sure what it was until I was examining a specimen from Blue Earth County from 1 June 2019 and realized it was the same species.  An image of one of the Blue Earth County specimens can be seen on BugGuide here.  This species was not even a hypothetical on my list because its distribution in North America is so little known.  Finding it in two counties separated widely by geography is especially exciting.  This represents the 498th confirmed species in Minnesota.  Two additional hypothetical species were added to the list after a closer reading of Chamberlin & Gertsch, 1958: Dictyna major Menge, 1869 and Dictyna quadrispinosa Emerton, 1919.

19 May 2019–I found a male Hibana gracilis (Hentz, 1847) in a silk retreat inside a hummingbird feeder in my yard while changing the nectar.  This species was listed as hypothetical and I have always been surprised that I have not found one until now.  This represents the 497th confirmed species in Minnesota.  The specimen can be seen on BugGuide here.

12 March 2019–One of my students collected some spiders for me from Kanabec County over the 2018 summer.  I finally got around to identifying her spiders over Spring Break.  One of the specimens turned out to be an adult male Ceraticelus atriceps (O. P.-Cambridge, 1874).  This represents the 496th confirmed species in Minnesota.  An image can be viewed on BugGuide here.

18 August 2018–As part of a Drop-In Station teaching people about spiders at Tamarack Nature Center in White Bear Lake, MN, I collected a female Trochosa ruricola (De Geer, 1778).  This represents the 495th confirmed species in Minnesota.  An image can be viewed on BugGuide here.

22 June 2018–During a bioblitz with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a male Theridion petraeum was collected.  This represents the 494th confirmed species in Minnesota.  An image can be viewed on BugGuide here.

27 October 2017–A spider enthusiast in the Twin Cities took a great series of pictures of a Metaltella simoni (Keyserling, 1878) collected in a greenhouse in Dakota County.  This represents the 493rd confirmed species in Minnesota.  An image can be viewed on BugGuide here.

25 September 2017–The students in my Invertebrate Zoology class and I put out some ramp traps on Bethany’s campus and managed to capture a female Diplocephalus subrostratus (O. P.-Cambridge, 1873) in the process.  This species was an unexpected addition to the checklist and represents the 492nd confirmed species in Minnesota.  An image can be viewedon BugGuide here.

31 August 2017–One of the students in my Invertebrate Zoology class captured a female Lepthyphantes turbatrix (O. P.-Cambridge, 1877) at the W.R. Taylor Memorial Wildlife Management Area in Watonwan County.  This represents the 491st species confirmed in Minnesota.  An image can be viewed on BugGuide here.

9 June 2017–I found a female Philodromus peninsulanus Gertsch, 1934 while sweeping at the North Ottawa Impoundments in Grant County.  This is the 490th confirmed species in Minnesota.  An image can be viewed on BugGuide here.

31 May 2017–I found a female Ceraticelus similis (Banks, 1892) at the Seim-Fredrickson Landing in Chippewa County. This is the 489th confirmed species in Minnesota.  An image of the spider can be viewed on BugGuide here.

31 May 2017–I found a large data set of museum records for Minnesota on SCAN.  That resulted in confirmation of several hypothetical species and the addition of a couple of others, bringing the state spider total to 488 confirmed species.

17 August 2016–I collected a male Tetragnatha pallescens F.O.P. Cambridge, 1903 at a boat landing north of Brownsville, Minnesota in Traverse County. This is the 473rd confirmed species in Minnesota. An additional male collected on 18 August 2017 can be seen on BugGuide here.

6 July 2016–First confirmed record of Gonatium crassipalpum Bryant, 1933.   This species was formerly listed as hypothetical.  A female was collected during a bioblitz in the Sax-Zim Bog in St. Louis County and can be viewed on BugGuide here.  This is the 471st confirmed species in Minnesota.  During the same bioblitz, a male Dictyna brevitarsa Emerton, 1915 was collected by shaking a tamarack.  This species was also on the hypothetical list and represents the 472nd confirmed species for Minnesota.  The specimen can be viewed on BugGuide here.

24 June 2016–First confirmed record of Clubiona johnsoni Gertsch, 1941.  This species was listed as hypothetical on earlier versions of the checklist.  A female was collected during a bioblitz with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Louisville Swamp Unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.  The specimen can be viewed on BugGuide here.  This represents the 470th confirmed species for Minnesota.

17 June 2016–First confirmed records of Lyssomanes viridis (Walckenaer, 1837).  A female specimen was found stowed away in a rainfly after a vacation to the southeastern U.S.  A picture of the epigynum can be found on BugGuide here.  This is the 469th confirmed species for Minnesota.

23 December 2015–First confirmed records of Habronattus cuspidatus Griswold, 1987 and Pelegrina exigua (Banks, 1892).  Both were previously listed as hypothetical and both were found by Dr. William Ehmann of Seattle University during jumping spider surveys around the state during summer 2015. Dr. Ehmann graciously shared his data with me.  These represent the 467th and 468th confirmed species in Minnesota

15 July 2015–First confirmed record of Enoplognatha ovata (Clerck, 1757) collected from a woodland at the Aurora Wildlife Management Area near Bixby, MN in Steele County.  This non-native species continues to expand its range in North America.  Both male and female were collected and can be viewed on BugGuide here and here. This represents the 466th confirmed species in Minnesota.

10 July 2015—First confirmed record of Pirata montanoides Banks, 1892 collected from a woodland on the south side of Rice Lake near Winnebago, MN in Faribault County.  Both male and female were collected and can be viewed on BugGuide here and here.  This represents the 465th confirmed species in Minnesota.

10 July 2015—First confirmed record of Misumessus oblongus (Keyserling, 1880) from Faribault County.  This specimen was found while sweeping grasslands at the Blue Earth River Aquatic Management Area west of Winnebago, MN.  See BugGuide to view the specimen.  This represents the 464th confirmed species in Minnesota.

10 July 2015–First confirmed record of Phrurotimpus borealis (Emerton, 1911) from Faribault County.  This species was on my list of hypotheticals.  This specimen was collected in a small woodland on the south side of Rice Lake near Winnebago, MN.  See BugGuide to view the specimen.  This represents the 463rd confirmed species in Minnesota.

29 June 2015–First confirmed record of Erigone blaesa Crosby & Bishop, 1928 from Olmsted County.  This specimen was collected while camping at Chester Woods County Park east of Rochester.  See BugGuide to view the specimen.  This represents the 462nd confirmed species in Minnesota.

12 June 2015–I always thought that this could happen during the course of this project.  I collected a spider during a bioblitz with the USFWS at the Jessenland Unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.  It keyed out to Arctachaea in Spiders of North America but appears to be an undescribed species!  See BugGuide to view the specimen.  This is the 461st confirmed species in Minnesota…now it just needs to be formally described.

10 June 2015–First confirmed record of Erigone dentosa O. P.-Cambridge, 1894 from Blue Earth County.  The specimen was collected by one of the students participating in our summer science camp at Bethany Lutheran College!  See BugGuide to view the specimen.  This is the 460th confirmed species in Minnesota.

29 May 2015– First confirmed record of Tapinocyba simplex (Emerton, 1882) from Blue Earth County; this was a serendipitous find on a picnic table at a party.  See BugGuide to view the specimen.  This is the 459th confirmed species in Minnesota.

27 May 2015 — First confirmed record of Piratula canadensis (Dondale & Redner, 1981) from Renville County.  This species was not on my list of hypotheticals but should have been.  See BugGuide to view the specimen.  This is the 458th confirmed species in Minnesota.  On the recommendation of Robin Leech, I also added two hypothetical species to the list: Arctobius agelenoides (Emerton, 1919) and Titanoeca nigrella (Chamberlin, 1919).

11 May 2015 — First confirmed record of Philodromus praelustris  Keyserling, 1880 from Le Sueur County.  This species was on my list of hypotheticals.  See BugGuide to view the specimen.  This is the 457th confirmed species in Minnesota.