Steatoda
(False Widows)

Picture ID 59877

Picture of Steatoda (False Widows) - Lateral

Comments & ID Thoughts

Photographed at 2am alongside my superhot chilli growing area in the SE of the UK. We have false widows here nowadays but this is far larger than I am familiar with (40mm plus) and looks different with a noticeable reddish brown colouration particularly on the under abdomen. She eats all my ladybirds!

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TangledWeb

Hi, we mostly tell the cobweavers apart by the dorsal markings. No, they don’t like being in the light. They’ll either hold still or try to escape to a dark place. They don’t see well, they use sense of touch more and it doesn’t benefit them to be seen. That’s interesting that she’s eating beetles. The ones that live with me mostly eat other spiders and moths. We’ll try to match her to your new false widow population.

TangledWeb

You’re welcome. This family of spiders make the true “cobwebs.” The webs get really dusty and are deceivingly messy to trick insects into not recognizing them as spider webs.

Additional Pictures

Picture of Steatoda spp. (False Widows) Enlarge Picture
Picture of Steatoda spp. (False Widows) - Male Enlarge Picture
Picture of Steatoda spp. (False Widows) Enlarge Picture
Picture of Steatoda spp. (False Widows) Enlarge Picture