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Comments & ID Thoughts
I think the spider is a False Black Widow or Steatoda grossa. Maybe a female,
I caught one the other day cleaning out my corner pantry area and two more today and a tiny one. Took the first one outside to the garden and on second thoughts I wanted to take a picture but too late as she was in leafy ground cover. Quote big abdomen and lovely light colored spots. Now I have two more in a jar and maybe the baby too. Found near a cupboard making their namesake
"cupboard" spider appropriate!
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Feb 14, 2021
- Photographed: Feb 13, 2021
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Costa Mesa, California, United States
- Spotted Indoors: Other
- Found in web?: Yes
- Attributes:
I’m known here for adoring the Cupboard Spiders. It’s not an issue where I live, but these critters eat the real Widows and Brown Recluses. Ticks, mosquitos, house flies, and fruit flies too! If you shine a bright light on their abdomens, where the markings are, you can see through the exoskeleton to the metallic-looking under layer. You’re probably correct with “female Steatoda grossa.” The markings are easier to recognize in a straight-down dorsal photo. There are many Steatoda noblis in California too. S. noblis is an introduced species from Europe. The one that looks like a baby might be… Read more »