Tegenaria Domestica - Dancing?

TheShrubbery

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 30, 2016
Messages
62
I own two house spiders, one male and one female. The common term "House spider" in the UK= Tegenaria Domestica

The male does some very strange behavior when eating/killing/hunting prey, he will immobilize the prey by biting into its legs or pushing it further into his web, then he will as what I can only describe as "dance" around the prey. The area in the enclosure I keep him in, is already fairly webbed up by him. So I don't think he is webbing? He "dances" around the prey, (which at this point is dying or is so deep into the web it can't move) and does this for several minutes. He then leaves the prey there in the open web, comes back 5 minutes later and takes into his "lair" to be fully devoured.

Lair being the area in his enclosure that is webbed up the most.

Is this strange behavior or is it completely normal?
 
Last edited:

Nosiris

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 5, 2014
Messages
62
"House spiders" is too vague to start a conversation. In the UK the phrase usually means Tegenaria/Eratigena but I've heard Pholcids and even Steatoda called 'house spiders'.
 

TheShrubbery

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 30, 2016
Messages
62
"House spiders" is too vague to start a conversation. In the UK the phrase usually means Tegenaria/Eratigena but I've heard Pholcids and even Steatoda called 'house spiders'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegenaria_domestica That's the spider. Cellar spiders and widows are never called "House spiders" in the UK. Pholcids are known as "Cellar spiders" or "Daddy long legs" where as "Steatoda" are just known as widows.
 
Last edited:

magicmed

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 4, 2016
Messages
404
Could it possibly be webbing the prey itself? Maybe to stop it from twitching while it feeds?

All I know about them is they're pretty heavy webbers if I'm not mistaken on them being one of the species I see all the time wild here in the states. In the states the uneducated refer to just about any spider other than a recluse or widow as a "house" Or "garden" spider. I used to keep a funnel Web weaver that webbed anything and everything it could
 

Toxoderidae

Arachnoprince
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Messages
1,008
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegenaria_domestica That's the spider, is that clear enough for ya? Cellar spiders and widows are never called "House spiders" in the UK. Pholcids are known as "Cellar spiders" or "Daddy long legs" where as "Steatoda" are just known as widows. This was not too vague, clearly you have not done your research.
Look, you came onto a public arachnid forum, used the wrong subforum, and used a common name that especially in the US, could mean hundreds of species. Don't act like we're idiots or were in the wrong when you didn't give enough information, and acted like a common name was enough.
 

TheShrubbery

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 30, 2016
Messages
62
Look, you came onto a public arachnid forum, used the wrong subforum, and used a common name that especially in the US, could mean hundreds of species. Don't act like we're idiots or were in the wrong when you didn't give enough information, and acted like a common name was enough.
I would of thought, (seeing as the first google result for "house spider" makes it distinct enough to know what I am talking about) that you could of googled it yourself? And thus known what I was talking about?
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
759
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegenaria_domestica That's the spider, is that clear enough for ya? Cellar spiders and widows are never called "House spiders" in the UK. Pholcids are known as "Cellar spiders" or "Daddy long legs" where as "Steatoda" are just known as widows. This was not too vague, clearly you have not done your research.
I'm sorry, could you be just a tad bit more sarcastic and condescending?

When @ Nosiris posted:

"House spiders" is too vague to start a conversation. In the UK the phrase usually means Tegenaria/Eratigena but I've heard Pholcids and even Steatoda called 'house spiders'.
I don't think he was trying to be condescending or anything like that at all. He was simply asking for more information then "house spider". On a forum that has users from all over the globe, "house spider" means different things to different people.
 

TheShrubbery

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 30, 2016
Messages
62
I'm sorry, could you be just a tad bit more sarcastic and condescending?

When @ Nosiris posted:



I don't think he was trying to be condescending or anything like that at all. He was simply asking for more information then "house spider". On a forum that has users from all over the globe, "house spider" means different things to different people.
It has been edited.
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
759
I would of thought, (seeing as the first google result for "house spider" makes it distinct enough to know what I am talking about) that you could of googled it yourself? And thus known what I was talking about?
There's a reason common names are frowned upon on the forums. Common names mean diddly squat. This is a forum for spider enthusiasts. In the interest of clarity, we tend to encourage people to use latin names for spiders you're talking about. Especially a term as generic as "house spider". Especially if you're going to jump down someone's throat over asking for clarification. This is a spider forum, this is where people go to GET information, not have to look up more from outside sources. People from different countries would get different results from googling "house spider" don't ya think?
 

TheShrubbery

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 30, 2016
Messages
62
There's a reason common names are frowned upon on the forums. Common names mean diddly squat. This is a forum for spider enthusiasts. In the interest of clarity, we tend to encourage people to use latin names for spiders you're talking about. Especially a term as generic as "house spider". Especially if you're going to jump down someone's throat over asking for clarification. This is a spider forum, this is where people go to GET information, not have to look up more from outside sources. People from different countries would get different results from googling "house spider" don't ya think?
Calm down m8. I already linked the "latin name" further up.
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,044
Around here 'house spider' means sparassids.
I'd guess it's dance is what an expert once described to me as 'stitching down' the prey. Making little webs from the prey to the surrounding web or ground. The webs are just individual filaments and often very hard to see. The dance, a back leg taking a web line and extending it from prey to web or ground.
 

Kymura

Arachnoknight
Joined
Oct 1, 2015
Messages
182
Totally agree with Toxoderidae.
Would have replied politely but I don't do rude.
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
759
MOD NOTE: for anyone concerned with what forum the thread is, it's been moved. :)
 

TheShrubbery

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 30, 2016
Messages
62
FYI this was a question so by basic logic I thought this would have done well in "Questions and discussions" sub forum. My tone as of late is naturally sarcastic, I don't see any rules against sarcasm?
Thank you moderator for moving it to the correct sub-forum, all I wanted was an answer or some information. I would of thought people would have had the brains to click on my profile and see where I'm from: then deduce what I meant by "house spider"; after that finally click on the wiki page I linked to find out what species of spider I own.

Idiots, everywhere. The people who did clearly understand and have some brains are @magicmed @The Snark . Moderator is appreciated too, but I did link the species I was going on about. Next time, I will use "latin names" and fully link the species I am going on about. So as there is no confusion.
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
759
FYI this was a question so by basic logic I thought this would have done well in "Questions and discussions" sub forum. My tone as of late is naturally sarcastic, I don't see any rules against sarcasm?
Thank you moderator for moving it to the correct sub-forum, all I wanted was an answer or some information. I would of thought people would have had the brains to click on my profile and see where I'm from: then deduce what I meant by "house spider"; after that finally click on the wiki page I linked to find out what species of spider I own.

Idiots, everywhere. The people who did clearly understand and have some brains are @magicmed @The Snark . Moderator is appreciated too, but I did link the species I was going on about. Next time, I will use "latin names" and fully link the species I am going on about. So as there is no confusion.
so to be clear, you posted a question asking for some information and help on an arachnid forum. You were asking a question in the TARANTULA Question and discussions sub forum when you were asking for information about true spiders. Since you are so clearly superior in your intellect then the rest of us I would have thought you would have understood the tarantula part.. you know, since you weren't asking about or discussing a tarantula. (I can be sarcastic too yes?) I also assume, in your superior intellectual power, that you should have understood that us lesser minds, would be unable to figure it out. That being said, do you suppose we, and by I mean anyone on this forum who would answer your question, should have to do homework to figure out what you need? Please refrain from calling basically everyone on the forum an idiot.
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,044
For a study in webbing, watch a Pholcid wrangling it's prey. The legs move so fast it's almost impossible to see it is wrapping the prey and the webbing, much like Tegenaria. is non sticky and extremely fine. The prey getting curled into a ball is the only real hint it is being webbed up. And then, all too often with pholcids, the prey suddenly breaks loose and escapes, giving a clue how thin and weak that webbing is.
As a general rule, spiders that don't have sticky threads are fanatics about over webbing their victims. They may also periodically give numerous additional lightning fast nips to further envenomate. Like the webbing, those nips are so fast they can be hard to spot.
(Thnx ro Rod Crawford for the info of fast feet webbing and nips)
 

kooky

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 4, 2016
Messages
91
Idiots, everywhere. The people who did clearly understand and have some brains are @magicmed @The Snark . Moderator is appreciated too, but I did link the species I was going on about. Next time, I will use "latin names" and fully link the species I am going on about. So as there is no confusion.
its actually "scientific name" as scientific names aren't compromised of only latin. Don't call others idiots without having your own facts correct. There ways to get your point across without being rude. People use 'scientific' names because they are universal whereas common names are different in every country.
 

Kymura

Arachnoknight
Joined
Oct 1, 2015
Messages
182
I would of thought people would have had the brains to click on my profile and see where I'm from: then deduce what I meant by "house spider"; after that finally click on the wiki page I linked to find out what species of spider I own.

Idiots, everywhere. The people who did clearly understand and have some brains are
Have to agree with the idiots everywhere remark OP.

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order Araneae (Spiders)
Infraorder Araneomorphae (True Spiders)
No Taxon (Entelegynes )
Family Agelenidae (Funnel Weavers)
Genus Tegenaria
Species domestica (Barn Funnel Weaver)

Locations can be found here. Do take note of the vast range of this spider then perhaps offer an apology hmm.
http://www.spiders.us/species/tegenaria-domestica/#range
 
Top