What Is It?

[RobbinLara]

I saved this guy from getting stomped and am curious to know what species it is....can anyone help identify? I also have a couple of video clips of him. I'd like to keep him does that sound selfish?

 

[P. Novak]

i dont know about everyone else, but i dont see any pics

 

[RobbinLara]

I am so sorry lol...brain melt down...here you go

 

[emmille]

?

i don't know what it is but it looks scary and venomous. well, just be responsible for any actions you take with that spider!!!!

 

[kahoy]

orb weaver?

 

[padkison]

Looks like a false black widow - harmless.

PM Venom, he's good at these or try Bugguide.net under cobweb spiders (Theridiidae
Steatoda)

 

[NRF]

It is a Steatoda grossa. It's not selfish to keep it. It will do well in a jar if you provide it with any kind of insects.

 

[Ms. Peaches]

Ha Robbin we did catch similar spiders. Crazy huh.

 

[lucanidae]

I'd have to disagree with Steatoda grossa, but it's definetly of the Theridiidae family which contains both steatoda and latrodectus genuses. Cobweb spider, almost definetly. Most likely not dangerous to anything but small insects.

 

[NRF]

I'm pretty sure it is S. grossa. Why do you disagree?

 

[lucanidae]

First off it is extremely difficult to ID a true spider by pictures such as these. Steatoda grossa is also generally darker in coloration, and generally smaller than this spider appears. I have keyed out many Steatoda before, and this picture just isn't good enough to ID the specimen to species. You can't see the eyes or any other structures needed to correctly ID it, especially to species. Saying it is a Theridiidae is about as good as it gets.

 

[NRF]

You don't need to see the eyes to determine Steatoda spp. The colour of this one is very typical for S. grossa (which can be completely black as well).
The light transverse band on the anterior part of the abdomen makes it a Steatoda. The long legs excludes many Steatoda spp. (for example S. bipunctata, S. borealis, S. hesperus and S. albomaculata). Its not S. triangulosa because of completely different colouration. The dorsal reddishbrown triangles are typical for S. grossa and the over all habitus fits very well. Anyway there are a few Steatoda species in WA which I haven't got a clue what they look like.
But there is nothing that talks against S. grossa, only the opposite

 

[lucanidae]

I can see why you would make the assumption that this is a S. grossa, and I think it is a very good guess, but I'm reluctant to ever offer ID's to the level of species from pictures like this. Without a key and a decent scope I would never ID any non-blattantly obvious spider to species.

 

[NRF]

My point is only that when you know what the alternatives are and you are familiar with them there is no need for a key nor a scope any more to say if it is a species which can be determined to 100% on the basis of semi-good photos like these. S. grossa is a species which can be determined. S. bipunctata in NAm is not but in Europe yes, because we don't have the ?similar S. borealis. It's only a myth that spiders are difficult to determine from habitus. When you get to know them many many are not. This is the same in most insect groups as well. Of course there are species which cannot be determined on overall appearence but many of therse probably mostly concerns small species which no-one has ever tried to determine without keys.

 

[Scolopendra55]

Looks like an S.grossa to me to.