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Common House Spider

parasteatoda tepidariorum

Photo by GregInch
Published on Project Noah
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36.3217, -81.4059

Field Notes

Description:

Large brownish orange abdomen, 7-10mm

Habitat:

I have several of these groupings on porch ceiling/wall. One spider with 2-4 egg sacs (I assume that is what they are).

Notes:

They do not move much. I blew on this one just to make sure it was still with us. They are all over around my house and have always been curious what they were.

Reference Links:

Species Parasteatoda tepidariorum - Common House Spider - BugGuide.Net

Species ID Suggestions

Common House Spider

parasteatoda tepidariorum

Reference Link
GregInch
1

Comments (7)
AshleyBradford
I have plenty of them living in my house, and they all make plenty of those little sacs, which, in turn, make a gazillion more... This one and her boyfriend are currently living right next to my fireplace: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zxgirl/6262875974/ I haven't seen fit to throw them out just yet, but if an egg sac appears, out they go!
GregInch
Oh dear. The Family is "Cobweb Spiders." I'm going to have a field day when I bring the camera inside and try to identify those critters :)
GregInch
Awesome Ashley, thanks! I think that's it. It makes sense too, "common house spider" because they are everywhere. The spiky egg sac and bands on legs was my argument against brown widow too. Thanks a bunch.
AshleyBradford
Some are very plain, like this one: http://bugguide.net/node/view/145440 And you can see the leg and body color match yours there. The egg sac of yours is the right shape. This one also looks a lot like yours, though with a color shift that could just be due to lighting: http://bugguide.net/node/view/565528/bgimage Brown widows don't look like this, and they create spiky egg balls like these: http://bugguide.net/node/view/448775 They have distinctive bands on their legs: http://bugguide.net/node/view/454464/bgimage Hope this helps!
GregInch
No, the ones here are very drab. Mostly brownish. It was only after I got a zoomed in picture did I see it may actually be orangish. A friend here keeps calling them "brown widows," but I'm doubting that after researching due to the lack of color and shape of egg sacs.
AshleyBradford
Kind of plainly-marked compared to those I find, but their color is variable anyway. I suspect she's one of these: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zxgirl/6236073082/ Do any of the others look more like that? They're very common around houses - mostly inside of mine, but I find them outside as well.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
International Spider Survey
Photographed
PublishedOctober 24, 2011

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