Amaurobius ferox
(Black Lace-Weaver)

Picture ID 60460

Comments & ID Thoughts

Black house spider?
Are they dangerous?

Submitted by:
rfuore
Submitted: May 13, 2019
Photographed: May 9, 2019
Spider: Amaurobius ferox (Black Lace-Weaver)
Location: Stockbridge, Massachusetts, United States
Spotted Indoors: Other
Found in web?: No
Attributes: Dorsal

4 Comments

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Rfuore

Photo Owner

May 13, 2019 2:22 am

Please help identify this spider….is it a black house spider and are they dangerous?

ItsyBitsy

Moderator

May 13, 2019 9:36 am

Hi, this is a Black Lace-weaver (Amaurobius ferox). Like most spiders they have venom but are unlikely to bite except in self-defense and are not considered to be of medical significance. Everyone’s immune system is different though.

Rfuore

Photo Owner

Reply to ItsyBitsy

May 13, 2019 2:44 pm

Thanks so much! He was very large and intimidating, but I was able to get him outside.

TangledWeb

Moderator

Reply to Rfuore

May 13, 2019 7:09 pm

Thanks for handling it kindly. I live in southern NH and have them outdoors and in my cellar. They live in the holes in my house’s stone foundation eating pillbugs and centipedes. They make flat webs on the walls and floor with the webs funneling into the holes where the spiders live. If I tug on a web, one will stick its head out to see what’s happening. It’s kinda cute. They seem to peacefully coexist with my other cellar spiders, Pholcus phalangiodes.