Yellow sac spider.

[Dreamslave]

I spend a lot of time on bugguide.net and don't know of any other species that looks like Cheiracanthium. Some look similar but still visibly different. You have any examples?

 

[jsloan]

I spend a lot of time on bugguide.net and don't know of any other species that looks like Cheiracanthium. Some look similar but still visibly different. You have any examples?

A couple of Clubiona (Clubionidae):

http://bugguide.net/node/view/35821/bgimage

The comments on that page mention the difficulties in IDing some of these spiders from photos.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/75804/bgimage

That said, the discernable features I see in the pictures of this thread that suggest to me (but don't 100% confirm) the genus Cheiracanthium are coloring, longish legs, and possible large claw tufts. So, yes, Cheiracanthium cannot be ruled out as a possibility. It may very well be what it is.

 

[buthus]

ALL Cheiracanthium spp. are cytotoxic, and capable of producing ulcurating sores in humans. The typical manifestation is a very swollen and reddened bump, which may blister. This is typically very sensitive to touch, and stings intensely. Additionally, systemic nausea, chills, and slight fever may be involved (I have seen this in a number of cases, including one case in my own household ).

Gotta ask... what evidence do you need to consider it a confirmed bite?

Ive had these on me, played around with them, grab em when I see em..so on, etc... except for smushin' down and/or just being a total jerk to one, ive had tons of exposure/contact and to the best of my knowledge, have never been tagged by one.

These are very interesting spiders. Because they can live in very dry household conditions and readily fill that tough little niche, I gotta believe them to be FAR more beneficial then given credit for.
I bet theres thousands of homes chuck full of these of which the occupants have never had a problematic wound to blame them for.

 

[Dreamslave]

You are totally right about them buthus, they are very beneficial to bug control in a house and they only bite when they feel trapped.

 

[Venom]

I once caught a tiny little C. inclusum, that was wandering about my house. By caught, I mean that I allowed it to walk freely over my hand. I thought it looked a little dehydrated, so I placed a droplet of water on my hand a little ways in front of the spider. It took a sip, and then promptly bit me, unprovoked except for it being on my hand. It stung a little, and formed a slight bump. This was a 1/4 inch spider.

A confirmed bite? Well, first I'd want to know if anybody saw a spider...and secondly, I'd take a look at the bite itself. I HAVE given positive ID's on evidence of the bite alone, but I always inquire as to how the bite / "bite" occurred/ began. I need a plausible envenomation scenario. For instance, I ID'd, on another site, a C.inclusum bite to a lady who had been fiddling around in her closet when she felt a sharp stinging pain. She never saw a spider, but had good pictures of the wound to her finger. It was intensely swollen and purple, with a watery blister at the center, and was extremely sensitive to the touch. Important also, was the concurrence of a slight "flu-ish" feeling, queasiness and chills ( slight, but still there...).

The wound was typical of C. inclusum envenomation, and there was a plausible bite scenario: she was messing about in her closet, hands deep in clothes. A sac spider was probably residing in there, and bit when it felt threatened by her groping hands, which afterward bore perfect C.inclusum symptoms. A few weeks later, this recurred, to her hand again, only in a different location. The symptoms were identical as last time, only the blister was more prominent.

So, a checklist for C.inclusum envenomation ID'ing, here's what I look for:

Spider seen? (not necessary )

Likely spider encounter scenario: indoors/ outdoors, doing what, where, when? (important)

Bite -- swollen, red/purple color, blister, stinging pain, intense/ immediate onset, pustule, sensitivity to touch, discoloration extending away from the immediate bite location.

Systemic --chills, nausea, fever.

As to geographic location, Cheiracanthium is essentially a world-wide genus, and all members are toxic. Sac spider bites can easily distinguished from recluse spider bites, and the scenario evaluation separates wasp/ bee stings from spider bites, since these generally will occur in totally different situations ( not too many bees in closets...especially with the other symptoms produced ). Cheiracanthium is considered both the #1 cause of noticeable indoors spider bites, and the most defensive of the medically significant spiders in North America. It also overwinters in human habitations, where it survives quite well. Bite frequency is elevated in spring and fall, when the spiders are coming out from hibernation, or coming indoors for it.

 

[Dreamslave]

Wow great info Venom! Thanks!

 

[Tarantula_Hawk]

I would question even the genus without better pictures. Cheiracanthium is only a possibility at this point; a good possibility, yes, but not certain without better information (which no one has given).

Have to disagree with you here. Leg I being longer than leg IV immediately tells us the spider belongs to Miturgidae and not Clubionidae. From the Clubiona pics u posted it is clear that leg IV is longer than leg I, ruling out the possibility of it being a Miturgidae.
Therefore, having said this, i'm 100% sure this is a Miturgidae, most probably a Cheiracanthium sp. I wouldnt go into the species since its impossible to ID different Cheiracanthium species without a very close inspection of the epigyne/pedipalp. Heck, we dont even know the size.
So i'd just stop at Cheiracanthium sp.

 

[jsloan]

Have to disagree with you here. Leg I being longer than leg IV immediately tells us the spider belongs to Miturgidae and not Clubionidae. From the Clubiona pics u posted it is clear that leg IV is longer than leg I, ruling out the possibility of it being a Miturgidae.
Therefore, having said this, i'm 100% sure this is a Miturgidae, most probably a Cheiracanthium sp. I wouldnt go into the species since its impossible to ID different Cheiracanthium species without a very close inspection of the epigyne/pedipalp. Heck, we dont even know the size.
So i'd just stop at Cheiracanthium sp.

Yes, at this point I am forced to agree with you. Thanks for the specifics. That was the kind of information I was looking for.

 

[Tarantula_Hawk]

No problem, anytime

 

[GiantVinegaroon]

hi,


That´s wrong. Not ALL spiders are venomous

graaah you are correct there's one family that isn't i forgot. thanks bud

 

[ZergFront]

Wow..

... and to think I let some of these crawl on my arm in the garden. Yikes! Up side is they are so easy to tell male from female. The males' "clubs" are huge in these!

Sac spiders and ghost spiders seem to really love hanging out on my giant collard plants. Probably to catch the little bees and flies. ^_^

 

[straight8]

Easy, I have been around this species for a long time and read A LOT about them and even if the pics are fairly small and average quality i'm still 100% sure its c.mildei. Also you can find them almost everywhere in the US and Europe. Only chance i am wrong is if staright8 lives somewhere else than the 2 continents mentioned above!

I live in Toledo, Ohio.

 

[cacoseraph]

graaah you are correct there's one family that isn't i forgot. thanks bud

two

one true and one ancient

 

[chris_vegas]

got bit by one a couple of months ago, was taking a piss late at night...no shirt on, little bastard dropped down from the ceiling...I went to swipe and got taggged on left side of stomach. Got a decent sized red bump kinda looked a bit like a wierd pimple, was VERY itchy and I could see the capililaries inflamed or something radiating out from the pimple....it eventualy went kinda like a burst blister and went away, but left a little bit of scar. The actual bite didn't really hurt. I did have pretty bad allergy like symptoms the next day, but I have allergies anyway...so who knows. Wish I'd taken pictures of the wound now lol

 

[cacoseraph]

oh, i reinstate my pervious offer:


anyone want to send me sac spiders to venom test? you have to pay shipping though, as i am broke as a bad joke right now

 

[buthus]

oh, i reinstate my pervious offer:


anyone want to send me sac spiders to venom test? you have to pay shipping though, as i am broke as a bad joke right now

Thats funny...cause I woke up today having a dream about getting tagged by one of my sicarius. Dreamlike surreal results...nevertheless, a vivid dream.

Andrew, I believe i run into both species yer talkin about ...though, mostly the lighter/tannish one ...thing is, I cant ever seem to find any when actually hunting for them. ...hmm.. "ghost spiders"

Venom... sorry, I missed yer response post...here...way back.

 

[jsloan]

anyone want to send me sac spiders to venom test?

How do you plan to test it?

 

[buthus]

How do you plan to test it?

... ... he'll pss a few off tell one tags him. ..then he'll openly ponder his situation.

 

[pavel]

Hmmm, surprised folks have been bitten by these ... I've caught them many times (by hand) indoors and have never been tagged. I must have happened upon the mellow ones.

 

[cacoseraph]

Hmmm, surprised folks have been bitten by these ... I've caught them many times (by hand) indoors and have never been tagged. I must have happened upon the mellow ones.

all the ones i have caught were mellow too. quick, but not inclined to bite. even Seven Yellow Lightning Bolts... who didn't bite even when one of his legs got removed by accident =P