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Comments & ID Thoughts
Not sure at all. Tried looking for hours.
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: May 8, 2020
- Photographed: May 8, 2020
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Kunming, China
- Spotted Indoors: Other
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes:
Unidentified
Picture ID 105514
Well, red and black are usually not good, meaning it is probably a species in the genus Latrodectus (widow spiders). Assume this is poisonous and bring it to a local biologist for help with an ID. It’s not matching up to anything I can find. It is a widow spider, I just am not sure about species. Is there an hourglass on ventral surface?
I got in contact with a local biologist but they didn’t give me a lot of details… All they they said was, normally lives in caves, dangerous, Theridiidae family… no information about a specific species.
On further observation of this image, I notice the legs are quite sturdy, stocky looking, unlike a true widow, Latrodectus. Also, that red cephalothorax (the “head”) is not typical. There is a false widow in the genus Steatoda that looks a lot like this. This may be Steatoda paykulliana .
I put it into a nicer habitat and bought food. I hope I can get some better pictures once it builds a web.
Latrodectus elegans is the only known Latrodectus (newly discovered) in China according to the World Spider Catalog. I can’t find many images, none with a red prosoma. It does look like Latrodectus bishopii (Red Widow) which is endemic to Florida. I don’t see any info that it might be elsewhere also. Kunming Guy, please be careful with it. The venom could be dangerous. It might bite if it feels trapped or squeezed. Spiders in family Theridiidae make small webs. True “cobwebs.” It would like to have a dark place to hide inside of its enclosure. It needs some airflow and… Read more »
Thank you, I’ll be careful. I took picture of its underside here: https://spiderid.com/picture/105637/ Sorry about the poor quality
I’m inclined to agree with Maryrobinson that the legs look a bit robust to me for Latrodectus (not much to go on, I realize). Also in some of the shots the shape of the abdomen looks more like Steatoda to me. There are quite a number of Steatoda in China. Given it lives in caves, it may not yet have been described.
Thank you for the advice! I’ll try to get in contact with people in some of the universities here about this Steatoda. The Universities are still closed due to the pandemic, but I’ll try once they open. I guess I’m stuck with this spider for a while… ya know, I have a mild fear of spiders. I run screaming if they touch me. My worst experience was when I was hiking in the mountains of Hong Kong’s main island. I wanted to see some old WWII ruins that were 500m off on an unkempt trail… there were huge golden orb-web… Read more »
I like these stories and this is the place to share them. I did the embarrassing high-pitched scream hiking in a park when I stepped on a snake that was under leaves. I told my husband later that I was glad no one was around and he said, “Oh that wimpy scream was you?” I have some great photos of his facial expressions when we walked through a State Park with Orbweaver webs every meter in every direction. Your Hong Kong hiking place sounds extremely interesting! Recently I’ve been exploring old cemeteries and found a Bobcat living in some tombs.… Read more »
Update here: https://spiderid.com/picture/111576/
Does anyone know how I should feed this spider? I bought some mealworms but the live ones break through the web and the dead ones just hang there not attracting the spider… Other ideas? It’s not a very aggressive spider though I’m not going to try to handle it obviously.
I managed to trap a house fly in with it.
Maybe it will eat a grub or small worm. The Therid spiders in my house (genus Steatoda) eat flies and other spiders mostly. If you have any unprecessed raw meat or blood or organs from preparing a meal it might try to dissolve and drink it a little bit. Spiders can’t chew solid food. They have narrow digestive tracts. Any food needs to be liquid or liquified by the spider.
It’s eating the mealworms now.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steatoda_paykulliana
I think this is what you have.
I see what you mean, but there are a few problems with that ID. This spider has a red thorax, a red spot on the ventral side, slightly different markings, and lives in southern China. Steatoda paykulliana doesn’t match any of those.
Yah, that was closest I could get. Take it to a local entomologist or arachnologist. But assume it is a poisonous one. It sure is pretty! Let us know if you learn anymore. I have been through just about all the resources I can find and had no luck.
I just took a better picture of the ventral https://spiderid.com/picture/105752/
I’ve added another image set: https://spiderid.com/picture/105871/
I would bet my last dollar that it is a species of Steatoda.
Here’s the update: https://spiderid.com/picture/111576/