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Comments & ID Thoughts
I’m a bit puzzled on this one—it looked like an orb weaver to me at first and I was just about to handle it when I noticed the particularly dark joints in its legs, lankiness and when it flipped over on its web, it had a somewhat black hourglass marking on its underside. The only widows I’m familiar with are black and red widows, and I can identify those, but others in the genus are a bit of a puzzle to me and I’m inclined to think it is just a harmless orbie, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Jan 7, 2021
- Photographed: Jan 7, 2021
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Meridian, Idaho, United States
- Spotted Indoors: Sink or bathtub
- Found in web?: Yes
- Attributes:
You’re close, correct family- Theridiidae. Different genus- Steatoda. The Widows are genus Latrodectus. This spider is a False Widow, also called a Cobweaver. https://bugguide.net/node/view/6927 She’s probably Steatoda triangulosa. If you shine a flashlight on one it will stop moving. It will run for a shadow or dark object if one is nearby. One tried to avoid my white hands by climbing onto my black phone. Through their clear yellow chitin you may see an underlayer that reflects light like embossed gold or silver foil. They like to live in dark enclosed places and near moisture. Mine live mostly under the… Read more »