What is this spider?

gobey

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jun 20, 2014
Messages
290
These guys are the king arachnid of my house. Like even the tarantulas would be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of these guys. I don't know what they are though.... I was stupid and spaced and startled him out of a nice still shot.

My phone has a tendency to upload pictures upside down here also so sorry if it's that way.
 

Attachments

Shrike

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 8, 2006
Messages
1,598
That looks like a member of the family Pholcidae, aka cellar spiders.
 

gobey

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jun 20, 2014
Messages
290
Well there's certainly a ton of them in the basement. This guy was in the kitchen. He disappeared into a hole somewhere
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,044
Disappeared into a hole? Weird. They don't hide as a rule. You will occasionally get them moving upstairs, eventually moving into every room in the house usually where wall and ceiling meet. We had our bi annual fed-up-with-the-mess moment yesterday and vacuumed.
 

gobey

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jun 20, 2014
Messages
290
Disappeared into a hole? Weird. They don't hide as a rule. You will occasionally get them moving upstairs, eventually moving into every room in the house usually where wall and ceiling meet. We had our bi annual fed-up-with-the-mess moment yesterday and vacuumed.
Yeah he hid because I was chasing him to get a better picture for this post lol
 

edgeofthefreak

Arachno-titled!
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Messages
496
I have a bunch of those around my concrete filing cabinet for humans. They seem to enjoy the very dry conditions of indoor living. Absolutely any attempt to wrangle these critters (moving them from out in the open to a secluded spot for example) has them performing their highly adapted circus-feat style of defense: letting go and falling. The distance doesn't matter to them, and by the time I've noticed and tried to track where they land, they're gone.

They are experts at taking down the phorid fly nonsense that is plaguing the surrounding area, and are thus a welcome guest in my place of residence.




...though in my last dwelling (essentially a wooden crate for humans) I had C. mildei, P. tepidariorum, and the occasional T. domestica... much more entertaining (and easier to wrangle) spiders in my opinion. :)
 

dementedlullaby

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 8, 2014
Messages
300
I have a bunch of those around my concrete filing cabinet for humans. They seem to enjoy the very dry conditions of indoor living. Absolutely any attempt to wrangle these critters (moving them from out in the open to a secluded spot for example) has them performing their highly adapted circus-feat style of defense: letting go and falling. The distance doesn't matter to them, and by the time I've noticed and tried to track where they land, they're gone.

They are experts at taking down the phorid fly nonsense that is plaguing the surrounding area, and are thus a welcome guest in my place of residence.




...though in my last dwelling (essentially a wooden crate for humans) I had C. mildei, P. tepidariorum, and the occasional T. domestica... much more entertaining (and easier to wrangle) spiders in my opinion. :)
The species of cellar spider we have are nuts lol! When they're disturbed they'll shake in their web violently in a circular motion. It's hilarious.
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,044
I have a bunch of those around my concrete filing cabinet for humans. They seem to enjoy the very dry conditions of indoor living. Absolutely any attempt to wrangle these critters (moving them from out in the open to a secluded spot for example) has them performing their highly adapted circus-feat style of defense: letting go and falling. The distance doesn't matter to them, and by the time I've noticed and tried to track where they land, they're gone.

They are experts at taking down the phorid fly nonsense that is plaguing the surrounding area, and are thus a welcome guest in my place of residence.




...though in my last dwelling (essentially a wooden crate for humans) I had C. mildei, P. tepidariorum, and the occasional T. domestica... much more entertaining (and easier to wrangle) spiders in my opinion. :)
If you feel a desperate need to relocate these critters, my other developed a fool proof formula. (Almost=I screw up a lot). Take a white fluffy towel and cover a tennis or badminton racket and hold it beneath the spider. Disturb it by poking the web then follow under it until it drops. Shake towel out window or wherever and repeat. Terrycloth towels usually slows their scamper to a crawl. She can clear the entire house of 50 to 100 in fifteen minutes or so.

While good at gnats and mini beasties they are incredibly frustrating klutzes at mosquito catching.
 

edgeofthefreak

Arachno-titled!
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Messages
496
The species of cellar spider we have are nuts lol! When they're disturbed they'll shake in their web violently in a circular motion. It's hilarious.
I have yet to witness the famous web shake. They can apparently take down other larger spiders with this technique. **goes off hunting**

If you feel a desperate need to relocate these critters, my other developed a fool proof formula. (Almost=I screw up a lot). Take a white fluffy towel and cover a tennis or badminton racket and hold it beneath the spider. Disturb it by poking the web then follow under it until it drops. Shake towel out window or wherever and repeat. Terrycloth towels usually slows their scamper to a crawl. She can clear the entire house of 50 to 100 in fifteen minutes or so.
My Other dislikes spiders, but understands their benefit. I like to move them from behind doors and other visible places to under my computer desk or behind terrariums. :) I'll definitely try a towel in some sort of fashion for capturing. That'll give me a good chance to observe them as well, maybe even take some good close up shots.

While good at gnats and mini beasties they are incredibly frustrating klutzes at mosquito catching.
...haven't seen too many mosquitos just yet, there's been as many "too cool" days as "too hot" days. That, and I'm somewhat of a hermit anyway. :)
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,044
...haven't seen too many mosquitos just yet, there's been as many "too cool" days as "too hot" days. That, and I'm somewhat of a hermit anyway. :)
Snerk! Tell that to the mossies up near the arctic tundra where when the weather gets up to 50F during the day the clouds of them are so thick they are sometimes mistaken for ground fog, or down Aus way in the Kakadu where 120F in the shade just gets them excited.
 

Alokin

Arachnosquire
Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
121
I actually have 4 of these in the same web...chiling together in one of the corners of the room :D they look like a family...cous 2 of em are small the others are HUGE...and i mean HUGE...even for there standarts!!!
 

edgeofthefreak

Arachno-titled!
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Messages
496
Snerk! Tell that to the mossies up near the arctic tundra where when the weather gets up to 50F during the day the clouds of them are so thick they are sometimes mistaken for ground fog, or down Aus way in the Kakadu where 120F in the shade just gets them excited.
Usually we get em early in the season, and they seem to be able to survive anything. This year, warm weather came late, and erratic. I've had some plants die on my balcony. Sir, I can only imagine the mosquitos you have in your woods.

I actually have 4 of these in the same web...chiling together in one of the corners of the room :D they look like a family...cous 2 of em are small the others are HUGE...and i mean HUGE...even for there standarts!!!
I've heard that they are very tolerant of each other. Their web shake doesn't seem to affect them at all, so they sort of cohab. Are the size difference related to sexual dimorphism? The smaller members might be males? I like when my house pets reproduce....
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,044
I belive the answer is four????
I think so. Male and harem, eating a termite. There were 2 more just outside the shot. Maybe a jealous male or another prospective bride or two.
 

Alokin

Arachnosquire
Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
121
Yeah iv been notecing that the males...are bigger i think in this spicies...with really darker backs of the abdomem....atleast tahts what i think...or its the other way around...hmmmm not shure :D
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,044
Yeah iv been notecing that the males...are bigger i think in this spicies...with really darker backs of the abdomem....atleast tahts what i think...or its the other way around...hmmmm not shure :D
That appears to be the case, at least in the species I pictured. Those have an abdomen shaped a little like a hatchet at the rear. We have another variety here with bulbous, almost round abdomens that are communal and I can't see any dimorphism. The elongated abdomen model as the OP posted appears to have more robust males.
Of interest, we've had one of those I forget the word where there is a population explosion. Our kitchen is up to my eyeballs in them right now. Wade and wave through webbing to make coffee in the AM. Had one scampering around on my foot as the kittens climbed my legs. Very hard to concentrate.
 

Alokin

Arachnosquire
Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
121
That appears to be the case, at least in the species I pictured. Those have an abdomen shaped a little like a hatchet at the rear. We have another variety here with bulbous, almost round abdomens that are communal and I can't see any dimorphism. The elongated abdomen model as the OP posted appears to have more robust males.
Of interest, we've had one of those I forget the word where there is a population explosion. Our kitchen is up to my eyeballs in them right now. Wade and wave through webbing to make coffee in the AM. Had one scampering around on my foot as the kittens climbed my legs. Very hard to concentrate.
Sounds exiting in your home my friend...hope it stays that way :p but yeah we ahve the ones you described aswell almost perfect oval shaped abdomem....they are the big ones iv seen :D
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,044
Come to think of it. You all know those discussions of what the perfect beginner spider is. All things taken into account the Pholcids meet all criteria admirably for orienting people to spiders and helping people get over themselves - arachnophobias. Consider:

-Very visible. No hide and just hang out, ignoring human proximity.
-Completely harmless. If someone actually managed to get bit it would be a candidate for the Guinness book.
-Can be handled, sort of, as they run for cover.
-Demonstrates social spiders, a rarity. Especially how their webs can be individual, shared, or even become community property.
-Demonstrates how a web spider catches prey, very obvious from beginning to snack hung on the web for later. That includes how a spider commonly uses it's web wrapping skills along with how they deliver the venom in little lightning fast nips.
-They present a hazard for less desirable spiders. If you get a good heavy pholcid population webbing up an area it's a pretty deadly gauntlet for latros or steatodas, and wanderers like recluse.
-They are very prolific and quite public about their matings and egg sacks
and of course when you get fed up living in a house that appears to have the Addams Family for interior decorators, they are very easy to clean up.
 

dementedlullaby

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 8, 2014
Messages
300
Come to think of it. You all know those discussions of what the perfect beginner spider is. All things taken into account the Pholcids meet all criteria admirably for orienting people to spiders and helping people get over themselves - arachnophobias.
I never really thought about this species like that but your points are all very well thought out and true.

A lot of these spiders also are the ones that tend to freak people out the most lol. I guess it's the long spindly legs. Personally I love them and they're welcome in my home but I relocate females with an eggsac to better locations. I had an eggsac hatch out in my room once before I wanted to go to sleep. That was a good hour+ of catching babies (so tiny) and moving them so I didn't squish/accidentally eat any haha.
 
Top