| Carl Ludwig Koch | |
| Death Place: | Nuremberg, Germany |
| Nationality: | German |
| Field: | Entomology and arachnology |
| Author Abbrev Zoo: | C.L.Koch |
Carl Ludwig Koch (21 September 1778 – 23 August 1857) was a German entomologist and arachnologist. He was responsible for classifying a great number of spiders, including the Brazilian whiteknee tarantula and common house spider. He was born in Kusel in the Holy Roman Empire, and died in Nuremberg, Germany.
Carl Ludwig Koch was an inspector of water and forests. His principal work Die Arachniden (1831–1848) (16 volumes) was commenced by Carl Wilhelm Hahn (1786–1836). Koch was responsible for the last 12 volumes. He also finished the chapter on spiders in Faunae insectorum germanicae initia oder Deutschlands Insecten [Elements of the insect fauna of Germany] a work by Georg Wolfgang Franz Panzer (1755–1829).
He also co-authored, with Georg Karl Berendt, an important monograph Die im Bernstein befindlichen Myriapoden, Arachniden und Apteren der Vorwelt (1854) on arachnids, myriapods, and wingless insects in amber based on material in Berendt's collection, now held in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin.
He is not to be confused with his son, Ludwig Carl Christian Koch (1825–1908), who also became a well-known entomologist.