New spider species discovered among leaves in Johnson County

Fair warning: This story might give you the creeps, especially if you hate the idea of creepy, crawly spiders invading your space. A new species of spider has been discovered living among leaf litter in Johnson County. Just what arachnophobes need - a new spider to spook them. Tentatively named Orenoetides sp., the orangey spiders are tiny - around 2.5 millimeters - and thought to be harmless. University of Indianapolis Professor Marc Milne discovered the spiders on new Central Indiana Land Trust property while participating in a “bioblitz,” an intensive inventory of plants, animals and fungi. Milne and a team of UIndy students went on a spider hunt during the bioblitz last year. “Spiders are my specialty, so we were the spider team,” Milne said, adding he’s been studying and identifying spiders for a dozen years...more