Snakes and spiders in Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County, home of West Palm Beach, has 26 snake and 47 spider species on record, from 432 licensed snake and 272 spider records. Venomous species here: the northern cottonmouth, the eastern coral snake, the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, the Florida cottonmouth, the pygmy rattlesnake, the brown widow and the red widow.
Are there venomous snakes or spiders in Palm Beach County?
Yes. The northern cottonmouth: 18 licensed records, 6% of all Florida records of it. The eastern coral snake: 7 licensed records, 3% of all Florida records of it. The eastern diamondback rattlesnake: 7 licensed records, 2% of all Florida records of it. The Florida cottonmouth: 5 licensed records, 1% of all Florida records of it. The pygmy rattlesnake: 4 licensed records, 1% of all Florida records of it. The brown widow: 5 licensed records, 3% of all Florida records of it. The red widow: on record, no openly licensed records to count.
What snakes are in Palm Beach County?
In all, 26 snake species are on the Palm Beach County list. The most recorded are the Burmese python (70), the eastern racer (40) and the southern watersnake (39).
| # | Species | Records | Share of Florida records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burmese python introduced Python bivittatus | 70 | 1% |
| 2 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | 40 | 2% |
| 3 | Southern watersnake Nerodia fasciata | 39 | 3% |
| 4 | Brown water snake Nerodia taxispilota | 33 | 9% |
| 5 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | 24 | 5% |
| 6 | Eastern rat snake Pantherophis alleghaniensis | 22 | 17% |
| 7 | Corn snake Pantherophis guttatus | 19 | 3% |
| 8 | Northern cottonmouth venomous Agkistrodon piscivorus | 18 | 6% |
| 9 | Florida green water snake Nerodia floridana | 17 | 4% |
| 10 | Eastern kingsnake Lampropeltis getula | 15 | 8% |
| 11 | Eastern ribbonsnake Thamnophis saurita | 15 | 2% |
| 12 | Rough greensnake Opheodrys aestivus | 13 | 6% |
| 13 | Striped crayfish snake Liodytes alleni | 11 | 3% |
| 14 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | 10 | 2% |
| 15 | Eastern coral snake venomous Micrurus fulvius | 7 | 3% |
| 16 | Eastern diamondback rattlesnake venomous Crotalus adamanteus | 7 | 2% |
| 17 | Scarlet snake Cemophora coccinea | 7 | 3% |
| 18 | Florida brown snake Storeria victa | 6 | 5% |
| 19 | Mud snake Farancia abacura | 6 | 3% |
| 20 | Brahminy blindsnake introduced Indotyphlops braminus | 5 | 2% |
| 21 | Florida cottonmouth venomous Agkistrodon conanti | 5 | 1% |
| 22 | Pine woods snake Rhadinaea flavilata | 4 | 4% |
| 23 | Pygmy rattlesnake venomous Sistrurus miliarius | 4 | 1% |
| 24 | Black swamp snake Liodytes pygaea | 2 | 0% |
| 25 | Coachwhip Masticophis flagellum | 2 | 1% |
| 26 | Scarlet kingsnake Lampropeltis elapsoides | 1 | 1% |
When are snakes out in Palm Beach County?
Observation records of snakes in Palm Beach County run through most of the year, peaking in February with 13% of them; across Florida the peak is March.
What spiders are in Palm Beach County?
In all, 47 spider species are on the Palm Beach County list. The most recorded are the spiny-backed orbweaver (55), the American golden orb weaver (46) and the greater leucauge (34).
| # | Species | Records | Share of Florida records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spiny-backed orbweaver Gasteracantha cancriformis | 55 | 6% |
| 2 | American golden orb weaver Trichonephila clavipes | 46 | 5% |
| 3 | Greater leucauge Leucauge argyra | 34 | 7% |
| 4 | Gray wall jumper Menemerus bivittatus | 15 | 4% |
| 5 | Leucauge argyrobapta | 15 | 2% |
| 6 | Magnolia green jumper Lyssomanes viridis | 13 | 4% |
| 7 | Silver argiope Argiope argentata | 12 | 8% |
| 8 | Bifurcate trashline orbweaver Allocyclosa bifurca | 11 | 18% |
| 9 | Green lynx spider Peucetia viridans | 9 | 2% |
| 10 | Brown widow venomous introduced Latrodectus geometricus | 5 | 3% |
| 11 | Tigrosa annexa | 4 | 3% |
| 12 | Tropical orb weaver Eriophora ravilla | 4 | 1% |
| 13 | Arabesque orbweaver Neoscona arabesca | 3 | 2% |
| 14 | Global tentweb weaver Cyrtophora citricola | 3 | 6% |
| 15 | Zilloides orb-weaver Metazygia zilloides | 3 | 4% |
| 16 | Common Hentz jumping spider Hentzia palmarum | 2 | 2% |
| 17 | Misumenops bellulus | 2 | 3% |
| 18 | Misumessus tamiami | 2 | 8% |
| 19 | Physocyclus globosus | 2 | 17% |
| 20 | Red-femured spotted orbweaver Neoscona domiciliorum | 2 | 2% |
| 21 | Selenops submaculosus | 2 | 10% |
| 22 | Walckenaer's trashline orbweaver Cyclosa walckenaeri | 2 | 4% |
| 23 | American dewdrop spider Argyrodes elevatus | 1 | 10% |
| 24 | Banded garden spider Argiope trifasciata | 1 | 1% |
| 25 | Brown spitting spider Scytodes fusca | 1 | 4% |
| 26 | Difoliate orbweaver Acacesia hamata | 1 | 2% |
| 27 | Emblyna florens | 1 | 6% |
| 28 | Huntsman spider Heteropoda venatoria | 1 | 1% |
| 29 | Pantropical jumper Plexippus paykulli | 1 | 3% |
| 30 | Regal jumper Phidippus regius | 1 | 0% |
| 31 | Anelosimus studiosus | — | — |
| 32 | Arrowhead orbweaver Verrucosa arenata | — | — |
| 33 | Black-and-yellow argiope Argiope aurantia | — | — |
| 34 | Butterfly orbweaver Araneus pegnia | — | — |
| 35 | Hogna osceola | — | — |
| 36 | Lupettiana mordax | — | — |
| 37 | Metacyrba punctata | — | — |
| 38 | Ogre-faced spider Deinopis spinosa | — | — |
| 39 | Peppered jumper Pelegrina galathea | — | — |
| 40 | Rabidosa hentzi | — | — |
| 41 | Red widow venomous Latrodectus bishopi | — | — |
| 42 | Schizocosa ceratiola | — | — |
| 43 | Sixspotted fishing spider Dolomedes triton | — | — |
| 44 | Tuftlegged orbweaver Mangora placida | — | — |
| 45 | Twin-flagged jumping spider Anasaitis canosa | — | — |
| 46 | White-jawed jumping spider Hentzia mitrata | — | — |
| 47 | Yellow ghost spider Hibana velox | — | — |
When are spiders out in Palm Beach County?
Observation records of spiders in Palm Beach County run through most of the year, peaking in December with 15% of them; across Florida the peak is April.
What stands out in Palm Beach County
Species for which Palm Beach County holds a large share of all Florida records: the bifurcate trashline orbweaver, 18% (11 of 61); the eastern rat snake, 17% (22 of 131).
Harmless lookalikes in Palm Beach County
No copperheads reach the county list, but the eastern copperhead is on the Florida list: treat any snake like it as venomous until identified. Harmless species often taken for them here: the eastern rat snake and the corn snake. Cottonmouths are on the county list, and so are harmless species often taken for them: the southern watersnake, the brown water snake, the Florida green water snake and the mud snake. Coral snakes are on the county list, and so are harmless species often taken for them: the scarlet snake and the scarlet kingsnake.
Palm Beach County among Florida counties
By licensed snake records Palm Beach County ranks 9th of 67 Florida counties with any.
Other Florida counties with their own page: Miami-Dade County, Collier County, Alachua County, Monroe County, Broward County, Lee County, Orange County and Marion County.
The whole state: venomous species in Florida, all snakes, all spiders.
GBIF records read 2026-09-29. Listed: any license. Counted: CC0/CC BY only. How we count.