Steatoda grossa
(False Black Widow)

Picture ID 53639

Picture of Steatoda grossa (False Black Widow) - Dorsal

Comments & ID Thoughts

The spider was discovered in the laundry room near the garage. I thought at first it may have been a black/brown widow but on closer examination, not sure. Need additional opinions.

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ItsyBitsy

Hi, this is a False Black Widow, Steatoda grossa.

etienne.noddy

Isn’t it just a false widow instead of a false black widow

TangledWeb

As a specific species the consensus is to call this one a False Black Widow. The similar spiders in family Theridiidae that are dark-colored, as a group, can be referred to as false widows. I’ve been using it wrong in my own IDs, I’ll be more specific in the future. Common names can be messy things. We keep them, in part, because many binomial scientific names are being changed rapidly with the availability of genomic testing changing the way organisms are classified. They used to be organized by behavior and body morphology instead of genetic ties.

Additional Pictures

Picture of Steatoda grossa (False Black Widow) - Dorsal Enlarge Picture
Picture of Steatoda grossa (False Black Widow) Enlarge Picture
Picture of Steatoda grossa (False Black Widow) Enlarge Picture
Picture of Steatoda grossa (False Black Widow) - Male - Dorsal Enlarge Picture