
Comments & ID Thoughts
Broad-faced Sac Spider? With prey. I had trouble submitting this photo too. I don't know what the right answer is for photo size. After you choose one and the photo too you have to click "Done" in the upper right of the Photo Library box or it won't register that anything was chosen.
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Nov 9, 2019
- Photographed: Sep 9, 2019
- Spider: Trachelas tranquillus (Broad-faced Sac Spider)
- Location: Nashua, New Hampshire, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: Low foliage (shrubs, herbs, garden, excluding flowers)
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes: Dorsal
This appears to be a Trachlidae genus Trachelas. Possibly the “Broad Faced Sac Spider ” from the looks and coloring of it’s abdomen.
I apologize I didn’t see you had already identified this as Trachelas.
Nothing to apologize for, I posted it for confirmation of my ID, I’m one year into identifying spiders and I’m still figuring things out. It helps to have confirmed photos that I took myself because I can remember the size,appearance in different light levels, and behavior. This spider was a strong climber on vertical plastic. It made a point to not drop the prey as I kept moving it to try to trap it for the photo. It did not ever hold still, it’s in mid-stride of running in this pic.
I can completely see this scenario. I have lots of Trachelas here. They are quite impressive and fast. The only other spider I’d say that can climb and carry this fast would be Gnaphosidae. I’ve observed a Gnaphosidae scale a 6 ft cement wall carrying a gryllus probably 2x larger than the Gnaphosidae!! Gnaphosidae and Trachelas also are great actors. They among others play dead pretty well, but I have to say the award goes to Gnaphosidae for best actor. They have fooled me many times. I’ve only been identifying for a few years now myself and I learned something… Read more »