# is this an HOBO spider or a Tegenaria duellica?



## Paolo T78 (Aug 6, 2010)

hi there  can anyone ID my new pet true spider that happens to have choose me to look after him, its already eat 3 crickets and its very aggressive, i just want to study him for a week and i will set him free after ... here the pics:


















:?


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## cacoseraph (Aug 6, 2010)

fancy looking spider you got there 


my understanding is that to conclusively get down to species for Tegenaria species you need to look VERY carefully at their epigastric (sexual) opening and possibly even dissect them


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## davisfam (Aug 6, 2010)

Tegenaria duellica


http://www.bumblebee.org/invertebrates/images/TegenariaDuellica.jpg

http://bugguide.net/node/view/323947/bgimage


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## jsloan (Aug 7, 2010)

If that's an adult cricket it's eating this is one of the larger _Tegenaria sp_.  I agree with *cacoseraph* on the identification.  According to Roberts (1996) there are four large species in Britain (and at least 3 smaller ones), and they look so much alike they can only be identified to species by their genitalia.

I think you'll have to settle for knowing just the genus on this one.  However, you can still enjoy your spider!  Keep feeding it crickets and maybe it will build a web in the container.  These are fun spiders to keep.


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## TheTyro (Aug 7, 2010)

Ditto what Davisfarm and Jsloan said. I've got myself a clan of these T.gigantea (er, duellica? What name did we settle for? :?) captive and I think they are pretty distinctive as adults, compared to other Tegenaria spiders. But it's probably because I have three species in my yard and see them often, so maybe I just have an eye for the differences now.


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## marclar (Aug 10, 2010)

I wouldn't call these spiders 'agressive' , they are fast and a bit scary, but wouldnt call them agressive, what makes you say that ?


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## Travis K (Aug 12, 2010)

what is isn't is T agrestis (hobo). http://pep.wsu.edu/pdf/PLS116_1.pdf

looks like some kind of T. (giant european house spider)


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## Travis K (Aug 12, 2010)

TheTyro said:


> Ditto what Davisfarm and Jsloan said. I've got myself a clan of these T.gigantea (er, duellica? What name did we settle for? :?) captive and I think they are pretty distinctive as adults, compared to other Tegenaria spiders. But it's probably because I have three species in my yard and see them often, so maybe I just have an eye for the differences now.


Umm, we need to talk as I would love to have a culture of the duellica.

OH, and you should post some of your pics in here, it is appropriate as they may be the same species as the OP.  Interesting note I just recently learned that agrestis and duellica are non-native to our state.


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## aaronw (Aug 31, 2010)

*does anyone know what type of spider this is*

im wondering what type of spider this is i live in canby oregon and i am finding them everywhere in and around my house. im thinking it is a hobo butt i am trying to get it ID'd. if you can tell what type of spider this is please email me at sniper_m2000@hotmail.com
                                                                  thanks


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## TheTyro (Sep 1, 2010)

This isn't absolute, but based on what I have learned I'd say the male on the quarter is a nice sized male T.agrestis. I'll show you peeps two videos I did that shows the differences between the two species. I showed both videos to Rod Crawford and he agreed that my I.D's were likely correct. I think it's pretty distinctive, but there are some super fine details you need to look at under a microscope. Right down do a minute detail, even within the view of a scope.  I think a big clue is looking at the difference in leg proportion (also the width of the hairs on the foremost pair of legs) T.gigantea males have pretty impressive tufts from about the patella to the tarsus. There is a huge difference in palp shape and well, the unreliable color variation...haha. Hobo's in my experience are a sandy brown with a grayish/pale brown abdomen...and missing those spots on the sternum and on the coxa...but that definitely isn't a reliable way to I.D. them. It does help though. Hobo's also look like they are blushing, their "face" is tinted red pretty often. Their overall abdomen/book lung area shape seems slightly different too. T.agrestis is built more robustly, while T.gigantea's are sort of lightly built. I also find their behaviors are pretty different. T.gigantea tends to be pretty docile, were T.agrestis is a little bit more spunky and defensive.

*Male T.agrestis (Hobo)*
[YOUTUBE]J8ENBWAb1x0[/YOUTUBE]

*Male T.gigantea (Giant House Spider)*
[YOUTUBE]R4nn6N1c-N0[/YOUTUBE]


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