Unknown species. Lives in unused coat-closet. Hallway light is magenta for dramatic effect.
Triangulate cobweb spider
Scientific name: Steatoda triangulosa.
Other names: Triangulate bug spider; triangulate cobweb spider.
“Triangulate bug spider” got me good, like something named by a researcher and their 3-year-old together. Also, they sound like really good neighbors.
Sounds like Axe Cop’s origin!
They apparently eat spiders seen as harmful to humans, such as the hobo spider and brown recluse. Due to their poor eyesight, they spend hours building intricate messy webs.
Sorry. I’m quite late to the party and you did a good job IDing the spider.
They apparently eat spiders seen as harmful to humans, such as the hobo spider and brown recluse
They are indeed quite adapt in catching spiders bigger than themselves, including the one’s you mentioned. However, one crucial correction: hobo spiders (Eratigena agrestis) are not harmful to humans. That is a misconception only prevalent in the US. These spiders are just as harmless as all their cousins.
Black widows and recluses are the only medically significant spiders in the US.
But when it comes to the US, Steatoda are generally competing with black widows and actually replacing them (behaviourally, they are very similar).
Due to their poor eyesight, they spend hours building intricate messy webs.
Most spiders do have poor eyesight, that is not the driving force here. Steatoda are cob-web spiders (Theridiidae) and that’s just the type of web they build. There are many other spiders with poor eyesight that build very different webs (like the famous orb-weavers).
Gorgeous bootie <3
