Southern House Spider (Kukulcania hibernalis) 072108 pg 2

The photo on the right is another view of the same spider shown on the previous page. To see what the male of this species looks like, click here. Although the male is often mistaken for the brown recluse, the female is less apt to suffer that indignity, as its coloration is such that the false "fiddle" marking, prominent on the male's cephalothorax, is not seen in the female. Still, both Brandon N. and Neal W. sent their photos to me asking whether they might be of a brown recluse. I sometimes receive photos of wolf spiders, even of jumping spiders, from persons who fear they might be of the dreaded brown recluse, so it's no surprise that the female southern house spider produces similar concerns. The venom of the southern house spider is not considered dangerous, however, and I have never received a report of a bite from the female of this species; not because it wouldn't bite (it would), and not because it can't bite (it can), but because, unlike the male of this species, it rarely ventures far from its crevice web (the cottony material shown beneath the spider's body, which is entirely cribellate silk, carded by the spider's fourth leg as it emerges from its cribellum (rather than from its spinnerets). That web is usually out of the way , and not likely to be molested by humans. I mentioned that a favorite spot for these spiders is in closets, but typically not ordinary clothes closets. NEXT PAGE ---- PAGE MENU:   1  *  2  *  3  *

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