Mature Male Hobo [pics]

[aliasx]

I caught this bugger in a laundry sink in my basement today. Assuming it is a mature male due to size and leg length.

[Stormcrow]

He's a beauty, love the markings and wish I could catch those here in southern California or at least purchase them. :)

[Cooper]

I know these guys are venomous, but just how bad is there venom?

[Invert Nerd]

little less, or just as bad as L. reclusa ive heard

[alex]

Cool spider you have.

[Cooper]

just as bad as L. reclusa ive heard


Ahhh, thats not good. So it IS necrotic then? I possibly have these where I live, but I think they are closer to oliver/osoyoos.

[pandinus]

little less, or just as bad as L. reclusa ive heard
doubt it. i have not heard of another necrotic spider in the US before. someone please correct me if i am wrong.

[wayneo]

Information regarding the Hobo SPider can be read here (http://hobospider.org/)

Wayne H

[carpe scorpio]

Nasty stuff, I'm glad we have no necrotic spiders in Alaska.

[Brian S]

So that is the infamous Hobo Spider...I have heard alot about them but that is the 1st pic I have seen. Where are they from?

[Brian S]

doubt it. i have not heard of another necrotic spider in the US before. someone please correct me if i am wrong.
I have always heard these guys pack a pretty good punch

[theninegates]

I think that is Tegenaria gigantea... the giant house spider. We live in the Puget Sound area and had what we thought was a Hobo problem. After too many discussions with neighbors and friends, I did some research. The two spiders look almost identical, but there is a way to tell them apart. Gigantea has small circular marking around the central pattern on the sternum

I made a quick & dirty comparision...maybe it will help someone. Gigantea will hunt and kill Hobos.

[Horrido]

Just from appearance and its gangly nature, I'm thinking giant house spider, too.

The other thing I've read, is basically unless you have a PhD for spiders and specialize in identifying them, it's almost impossible to tell hobos apart from several other species of harmless funnelweb spiders. You literally have to ID them from their genetalia.

There are a number of necrotic species of spiders in the US, the hobo (which, ironically, is NOT as potent in its native Europe), yellow sac spider, brown recluse, and several other species of recluse I can't remember right off hand, all funnelweb builders.

[David_F]

Scratch that post...Pure stupidity, dyslexia, lack of sleep, something....Somehow confused what was typed.

[theninegates]

Tegenaria Gigantea (giant house) bites do not cause the type of necrotic arachnidism associated with Tegenaria agrestis (hobo).

You'll see house spiders on ceilings and curtains, etc, while hobo's will be on floors, under piles of wood, clothes etc.

Some pics of Gigantea:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/attachment.php?attachmentid=27927&stc=1

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/attachment.php?attachmentid=27928&stc=1

Pics of Agrestis:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/attachment.php?attachmentid=27930&stc=1

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/attachment.php?attachmentid=27931&stc=1

[theninegates]

sorry for the double image attachments.

[edesign]

Nasty stuff, I'm glad we have no necrotic spiders in Alaska.

carpe...if i'm not mistaken i do believe brown recluses are found in Alaska, not native of course.

[JPD]

doubt it. i have not heard of another necrotic spider in the US before. someone please correct me if i am wrong.

The Hobo does posess cytotoxic venom. There is also the yellow sac spider...not sure the scientific name, which also produces necrotic leisons and is very common in the US.

As far as Hobo ID......I have had the opportunity to talk with Rod Crawford, an Arachnologist at the Burke Museum here in Seattle and according to him, an accurate ID can only be made upon microscopic examination of their genitalia.
The markings or lack thereof are not a good indicator in identifying the Hobo.
Generally speaking, Hobo spiders are much smaller than T.gigantea. Of course now throw T.domestica into the mix along hundreds of others that look very similar, and you are back to square one.

[JPD]

carpe...if i'm not mistaken i do believe brown recluses are found in Alaska, not native of course.

Other then the possibility of an occasional transplant, L.reclusa does not reside in Alaska.
Actually, about the farthest west that you would find them is Western Nebraska.

[Allaizabel]

I just caught a hobo spider running across my living room floor, scared the heck out of me until i got it secured. Unfortunately they are native, I live in Penticton. Nasty creatures.

[vvx]

I read somewhere that the giant house spider out numbers the hobo spider 3:1 or 4:1 on the west side of the mountains in WA. Which doesn't make hobo spiders all that rare, most people living here have probably seen one. Most of the time you're going to find giant house spiders though, and since spider bites are rare anyway the hobo threat gets a bit exaggerated.

I'm kind of annoyed by both sides, the side that every time they see a spider that's brown assumes it's a hobo and the side that assumes every time they see a potential hobo that it's not. The reality has gotta be some where in the middle.