The Southern House Spider is a large-sized spider inhibiting the Northern, Central and Southern parts of America. The male variant of this species is often mistaken for a brown recluse spider for their similar appearance.
Size: Females – 0.51 to 0.74 inches (13 to 19 mm) in length, larger in size than the males; Males – 0.35 to 0.39 inches (9 to 10 mm)
Color: Displaying sexual dimorphism, the males and females differ in color. The males are brown or amber, while the females have a black, brown or charcoal grey body. Both the sexes have light grey, velvety hair on their abdomen.
Other characteristic features: The females are also marked with a bulbous or ovoid shaped abdomen that gets distended further post feeding as well as during pregnancy. Their carapace is filled with dusky patches. The males, on the other hand, possess a slender body along with long legs.
About 200 eggs are laid at a time and they are approximately 15mm in size, loosely covered in a ball of silk, guarded closely by the mother in the burrow she dwells in.
The spiderlings of this species are sociable, exhibiting traits like sibling recognition, as well as cooperating with others while capturing prey. They always remain in clusters be it after feeding or when dispersing from the mother spider on maturation.
The webs of the Southern house spider are flat and tangled, having a woolly texture. Specialized webs are mostly spun by the females as well as juveniles, generally spotted on bridges, barns, and houses and occasionally under the bark of a tree.
Southern House Spider Web
People often take the Southern house spider, particularly the males, for a brown recluse because of their similarity in color and shape. However, the Southern House Spider is comparatively bigger in size than the Brown Recluse and also does not have the prominent violin mark as seen in the latter.
Between the two sexes, the males are said to be the aggressive lot, though they do not bite right away unless bothered or trapped. Since they have small mouthparts, they are not poisonous as their venom cannot get deep into the human skin. However, reports of two cases mention that the victims encountered swelling and pain that continued for two days.
Lifespan | Females live for approximately eight years; males have a much shorter life expectancy |
Distribution | The southern part of North America, all over Central America, and Southern American countries like Uruguay and Brazil |
Habitat | The male spiders are found in buildings on window sills, and shutters. The females are spotted under the bark of a tree as well as near bridges, houses, barns, and other human-made structures, where they spin their webs. |
Diet | Small insects like horseflies, house flies, cockroaches, beetles. |
Southern House Spider Image
Image Credits: Floridanature.org, Bugguide.net, Spiderid.com, Arizonensis.org, C1.staticflickr.com, Sciencesource.com,
Whatsthatbug.com, Backyardnature.net
The Southern House Spider is a large-sized spider inhibiting the Northern, Central and Southern parts of America. The male variant of this species is often mistaken for a brown recluse spider for their similar appearance.
Size: Females – 0.51 to 0.74 inches (13 to 19 mm) in length, larger in size than the males; Males – 0.35 to 0.39 inches (9 to 10 mm)
Color: Displaying sexual dimorphism, the males and females differ in color. The males are brown or amber, while the females have a black, brown or charcoal grey body. Both the sexes have light grey, velvety hair on their abdomen.
Other characteristic features: The females are also marked with a bulbous or ovoid shaped abdomen that gets distended further post feeding as well as during pregnancy. Their carapace is filled with dusky patches. The males, on the other hand, possess a slender body along with long legs.
About 200 eggs are laid at a time and they are approximately 15mm in size, loosely covered in a ball of silk, guarded closely by the mother in the burrow she dwells in.
The spiderlings of this species are sociable, exhibiting traits like sibling recognition, as well as cooperating with others while capturing prey. They always remain in clusters be it after feeding or when dispersing from the mother spider on maturation.
The webs of the Southern house spider are flat and tangled, having a woolly texture. Specialized webs are mostly spun by the females as well as juveniles, generally spotted on bridges, barns, and houses and occasionally under the bark of a tree.
Southern House Spider Web
People often take the Southern house spider, particularly the males, for a brown recluse because of their similarity in color and shape. However, the Southern House Spider is comparatively bigger in size than the Brown Recluse and also does not have the prominent violin mark as seen in the latter.
Between the two sexes, the males are said to be the aggressive lot, though they do not bite right away unless bothered or trapped. Since they have small mouthparts, they are not poisonous as their venom cannot get deep into the human skin. However, reports of two cases mention that the victims encountered swelling and pain that continued for two days.
Lifespan | Females live for approximately eight years; males have a much shorter life expectancy |
Distribution | The southern part of North America, all over Central America, and Southern American countries like Uruguay and Brazil |
Habitat | The male spiders are found in buildings on window sills, and shutters. The females are spotted under the bark of a tree as well as near bridges, houses, barns, and other human-made structures, where they spin their webs. |
Diet | Small insects like horseflies, house flies, cockroaches, beetles. |
Southern House Spider Image
Image Credits: Floridanature.org, Bugguide.net, Spiderid.com, Arizonensis.org, C1.staticflickr.com, Sciencesource.com,
Whatsthatbug.com, Backyardnature.net