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Prince William Forest Parkone of the park cabins in fall
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Prince William Forest Park
Spiders
brown recluse spider

Also known as the "Fiddle Back" spider, the brown recluse can injure humans.

Who hasn't been surprised when moving something in the basement to find a huge brown spider looking up at you?! The size of wolf spiders can be off-putting , but they are harmless to humans. All spiders in the world are venomous. The toxicity of that venom to people is what is important. In this area, only the black widows and brown recluse can hurt humans. Neither will hurt you if unprovoked and can generally be avoided.

 
spider on web

National Park Service.

Black and Yellow Argiope.

Spiders are fascinating creatures with truly unique features.

Webs
Many spiders make webs for the purpose of snaring their dinner. The complexity of the web varies depending on the species. Those classic and lovely circular webs are made by the orb weavers a huge group of spiders that are very comfortable setting up house by porch lights, boat docks, and anywhere that flying insects are attracted. 

Not all spiders make webs, instead some hunt with an ambush technique. Among these spiders are the large and hairy wolf spiders.

Office of Strategic Service (OSS) recruits learning Morse code during the Second World War  

Did You Know?
Prince William Forest Park was used by the Office of Strategic Services (forerunner to the CIA) as a training camp for spies during World War II. Today, you can rent a cabin where spies once learned their trade.

Last Updated: July 27, 2009 at 09:24 EST