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A hidden spider attacks! ID?

ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
Or, really, just kinda hangs out on the underside of my trashcan's handle in a very grabbable location.

I regret that the spider is no longer with us, but I'd love to know what it was I almost put my hands on.

@Arch @BugBoy - you're definitely resident experts!

jmwgjswk4rnk.jpg

Sorry for the phone picture, but it was really dark out so I had to use the flash to see anything.

Posts

  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    edited June 2016
    That's Nien Nunb.

    edit: I think

    TychoCelchuuu on
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Yub yub, commander!

  • JaysonFourJaysonFour Classy Monster Kitteh Registered User regular
    It looks like it could be a brown recluse, which is something that you really, really A) shouldn't put your hands near and B) ought to kill with fire if it's anywhere someone can put their hands. This is like the widow's meaner, nastier cousin with necrotic venom.

    steam_sig.png
    I can has cheezburger, yes?
  • KruiteKruite Registered User regular
    There is a small violin shape in a different shade on the back of a brown recluse. If that's what you're seeing, kill it.

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    FYI - in case it was a bit too subtle in the OP, the spider is very, very dead at the moment. :D

  • davidsdurionsdavidsdurions Your Trusty Meatshield Panhandle NebraskaRegistered User regular
    Yet another reason to have trash cans with foot pedal lifting mechanisms.

  • CycloneRangerCycloneRanger Registered User regular
    There's zero chance that's a brown recluse. I don't recognize that spider, but it's neither a widow nor a recluse, so you can ignore it (or could have, anyway).

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    looks like an orb weaver of some sort

    camo_sig.png
  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor Registered User regular
    Identifying and Misidentifying the Brown Recluse Spider

    Photo-relevant bullet points:
    No distinct markings on the abdomen. (That one has pretty apparent tramp stamping)
    6 eyes in three groups of 2. (Which I feel like we could see even in that photo)
    Leg bands: Not mentioned in that article, but I'm 70% you're not likely to find those on any recluses either.

    Cannot discern from photo, but good data points none the less:

    Not a big fans of webs.
    No visible hair other fine hairs on the butt.

  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    No visible hair other fine hairs on the butt.

    Leave me out of this.

    Is it just a sign of summer that we have a surge of spider posts?

    What is this I don't even.
  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor Registered User regular
    But that's just what it's not, which was not your question!

    Barring an ID from our resident experts, I like to use http://www.spiders.us as a start. You can look up spiders by region* which can help you narrow down the family / genus at least. As they will tell you, some species distinctions can be impossible to tell without putting their genitals under a microscope, and probably aren't going to be of interest to you in such cases anyway.

    *(But if you live in a port town and seem to get a lot of hitchhikers, it may not help much at all! We had south american colony spiders covering an oak tree for a season until what passes for a Florida winter wiped them out. They were pretty cool, but definitely wouldn't show up in a localized list)

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    edited June 2016
    Neat site, @ArbitraryDescriptor - thanks!

    This is the one that looks most similar, to me.

    Elvenshae on
  • bowenbowen Sup? Registered User regular
    The front legs and abdomen look like an orb weaver for sure.

    that abdomen is far too stout to be the one you picked.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • azith28azith28 Registered User regular
    When you see a spider, dont bother asking for its ID, just apply fire.

    Stercus, Stercus, Stercus, Morituri Sum
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    bowen wrote: »
    The front legs and abdomen look like an orb weaver for sure.

    that abdomen is far too stout to be the one you picked.

    It you look at the picture of the gravid female, though, it looks pretty close.

  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    edited June 2016
    JaysonFour wrote: »
    It looks like it could be a brown recluse, which is something that you really, really A) shouldn't put your hands near and B) ought to kill with fire if it's anywhere someone can put their hands. This is like the widow's meaner, nastier cousin with necrotic venom.

    Okay, so I'm going to pick on you for a bit, because this is why I got so irate in the black widow thread. There is A) no chance this is a brown recluse, even though it is a vaguely brown spider hiding away somewhere and B) the reports of brown recluse venom are grossly exaggerated.

    Now, I'm by no means a spider expert, but if I had to guess that is some type of crab spider, family Thomisidae, but of course this is home to about 2000 species of spider, so narrowing it down could be tricky. Again, not anything close to a spider expert, but the rounded abdomen and c-shape formed by the front legs always make me think crab spider, although it could be an orb weaver, although orb weavers tend to hold their legs differently than crab spiders. It doesn't look particularly gravid, either.

    Going to link-dump from the Black Widow thread here, but the important link is the first one, in regards to brown recluses

    http://spiders.ucr.edu/brs.html

    http://spiders.ucr.edu/necrotic.html

    http://buzzhootroar.com/a-spider-did-not-bite-you/

    https://arthropodecology.com/2012/02/15/spiders-do-not-bite/

    https://arthropodecology.com/2013/06/13/update-spiders-still-dont-bite/

    Anyway, like I said, most definitely harmless*, as are the majority of spiders in the world, up to and including the Big Two in the US (Widows and Recluses).

    *When I say harmless, I mean statistically unlikely to cause death.

    Arch on
  • Skull2185Skull2185 Registered User regular
    Looks to me like you had a facehugger on your trashcan... you were right to kill it. Should probably check around your house for eggs/the queen and kill those too. Do this during the daytime, though. Xenos are mostly active at night, as I understand it. Mostly.

    Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    Elvenshae wrote: »

    It you look at the picture of the gravid female, though, it looks pretty close.

    Hmm. The problem with the one you picked, even the gravid female, is that the connection between the abdomen and cephalothorax in Cheiracanthium mildei is very thin-waisted, almost wasplike, while the original spider image has a very stout connection between abdomen and cephalothorax, as well as much more robust legs.

  • JaysonFourJaysonFour Classy Monster Kitteh Registered User regular
    Arch wrote: »

    Okay, so I'm going to pick on you for a bit, because this is why I got so irate in the black widow thread. There is A) no chance this is a brown recluse, even though it is a vaguely brown spider hiding away somewhere and B) the reports of brown recluse venom are grossly exaggerated.

    Now, I'm by no means a spider expert, but if I had to guess that is some type of crab spider, family Thomisidae, but of course this is home to about 2000 species of spider, so narrowing it down could be tricky. Again, not anything close to a spider expert, but the rounded abdomen and c-shape formed by the front legs always make me think crab spider, although it could be an orb weaver, although orb weavers tend to hold their legs differently than crab spiders. It doesn't look particularly gravid, either.

    Going to link-dump from the Black Widow thread here, but the important link is the first one, in regards to brown recluses

    http://spiders.ucr.edu/brs.html

    http://spiders.ucr.edu/necrotic.html

    http://buzzhootroar.com/a-spider-did-not-bite-you/

    https://arthropodecology.com/2012/02/15/spiders-do-not-bite/

    https://arthropodecology.com/2013/06/13/update-spiders-still-dont-bite/

    Anyway, like I said, most definitely harmless*, as are the majority of spiders in the world, up to and including the Big Two in the US (Widows and Recluses).

    *When I say harmless, I mean statistically unlikely to cause death.

    No worries, Arch. All the media and the press that goes around about widows and recluses- let's face it, if it ends up on the news, they're going to try to start a scare tactic, and not everyone (including me, apparently) really knows what a recluse looks like- some people think "spider + brown = brown recluse = kill with fire because it's going to bite me and I don't want to get one of those nasty necrotic bites and have things fall off".

    I was wrong, and I'll go take a look at some of those links later, see if I can at least pick up the obvious traits a recluse have so the next time something brown and spidery comes crawling along it doesn't just get smashed because spider.

    steam_sig.png
    I can has cheezburger, yes?
  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    Skull2185 wrote: »
    Looks to me like you had a facehugger on your trashcan... you were right to kill it. Should probably check around your house for eggs/the queen and kill those too. Do this during the daytime, though. Xenos are mostly active at night, as I understand it. Mostly.

    It's better to take off and nuke the site from orbit.

    It's the only way to be sure.

    You're muckin' with a G!

    Do not engage the Watermelons.
  • bwaniebwanie Posting into the void Registered User regular
    edited June 2016
    man i have pretty severe arachnaphobia, but pls don't kill random spiders guys.


    edit: added "random". if you have a widow infestation i can see how that's something you want dealth with harshly.

    bwanie on
  • WiseManTobesWiseManTobes Registered User regular
    bwanie wrote: »
    man i have pretty severe arachnaphobia, but pls don't kill random spiders guys.


    edit: added "random". if you have a widow infestation i can see how that's something you want dealth with harshly.

    Ya, I constantly bewilder visitors when I'll practically dive to prevent the death of a spider that's found it's way into the house, and gently get him back outside.

    Their bewilderment goes away when I point out that at my house you don't get eaten alive by mosquitos when you go outside.

    Steam! Battlenet:Wisemantobes#1508
  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    I have pretty bad arachnophobia and squish spiders without mercy. No regrets.

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    edited June 2016
    I have pretty bad arachnophobia and squish spiders without mercy. No regrets.
    My Dyson has been used to commit war crimes on the local spider population.
    I've considered bringing in some mantis ringers to clear out the areas near my apartment, but I feel like it would be a waste money.

    zepherin on
  • azith28azith28 Registered User regular
    edited June 2016


    Ya, I constantly bewilder visitors when I'll practically dive to prevent the death of a spider that's found it's way into the house, and gently get him back outside.

    Their bewilderment goes away when I point out that at my house you don't get eaten alive by mosquitos when you go outside.


    I like to post this bit of information for people who think saving that one spider that shows up in your bathroom every few weeks is going to prevent mosquito bites:


    In a classic and seminal paper by Turnbull (1973) (all Arachnologists should read that paper!) there are a series of estimates of spider densities in a range of habitats – and these are estimates for all spiders, not just a single family. The lowest estimate he provides is from work in a Polish meadow where densities of 0.64 spiders per square metre were reported. The highest density was 842 spiders per square metre in an English pasture. Turnbull averaged all previous published estimates and ended with a mean of 130.8 spiders per square meter. Turnbull does point that it is kind of a meaningless statistic, except that it helps us tackle the question of interest: Is there always a spider within three feet of you…?

    So…. in most “natural” habitats, I think it is true that you are always within three feet of a spider.


    We are not in danger of running out of the little nopes. They can live freely and kill bugs as much as they want....but if one is hanging from a web in the center of my bathroom when i first wake up in the morning (or at night, They are asking for squishes.

    Also: Get me the fuck away from all English Pastures.

    azith28 on
    Stercus, Stercus, Stercus, Morituri Sum
  • BloodySlothBloodySloth Registered User regular
    edited June 2016
    I don't think citing a paper is really going to change anyones' opinions on the matter. Like, no one kills spiders solely because spiders have healthy local populations in the wild. Phobias are irrational, and everything that comes after that is justification.

    Which, I mean, that's fine. I don't like killing spiders personally, but it's not like it's an uncommon thing. It just always bums me out to see that so many people on the internet seem to be so energetic about their hatred for an entire order of animals, of which 99.999% are utterly harmless, beneficial, and super rad.

    BloodySloth on
  • azith28azith28 Registered User regular
    And as long as they stay out of my friggin bathroom they can remain that way.

    Stercus, Stercus, Stercus, Morituri Sum
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    I mean, I killed the spider in question because it was lurking in a place where I or my wife or kids would likely end up putting their hands, I couldn't otherwise get it out, and I didn't know what kind it was.

    I usually take the big hunting spiders we get in the house sometimes outside so they can continue to eat things I'd rather not have to deal with.

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