There are several spiders like this hanging dead in the basement all different sizes. It looks like they are encased in a white mold looking stuff. This is the biggest one I have found. It is like 2-3 inches in size a rather large spider for the North East
Hi, yes it is fungus, probably Torrubiella pulvinata. The spider probably is a long- bodied cellar spider, Pholcus phalangiodes. The spiders look bigger with the fungus. You might see live ones in your house in upper corners of rooms. Here’s the creepy part: the fungus is one of many “zombie” parasites that take control of the host’s nervous system and force it do suicidal acts against the animal’s instincts. This occurs in vertebrates from some parasites too. See the book, “Parasite Rex.” In this case a fungal spore infects and digests a spider to get energy and material to make… Read more »
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There are several spiders like this hanging dead in the basement all different sizes. It looks like they are encased in a white mold looking stuff. This is the biggest one I have found. It is like 2-3 inches in size a rather large spider for the North East
They do look like a long legged cellar spider but have never seen the mold looking stuff like this
Hi, yes it is fungus, probably Torrubiella pulvinata. The spider probably is a long- bodied cellar spider, Pholcus phalangiodes. The spiders look bigger with the fungus. You might see live ones in your house in upper corners of rooms. Here’s the creepy part: the fungus is one of many “zombie” parasites that take control of the host’s nervous system and force it do suicidal acts against the animal’s instincts. This occurs in vertebrates from some parasites too. See the book, “Parasite Rex.” In this case a fungal spore infects and digests a spider to get energy and material to make… Read more »