Can anyone help identify this spider ??

m600ant · #1 (**permalink**) 24-08-2009, 12:25 PM

Hi, I found this spider in our house yesterday and the only thing I can find on the internet that resembles it is the American "hobo" spider. It measures 2 1/2 inches leg span and the body was about 1 inch. Can anyone help ?

Jason Green · #2 (**permalink**) 24-08-2009, 01:17 PM

Hi m6, and welcome to WAB.

Do you have a top-down (dorsal) shot of it? Anyway, to me it looks like a common House Spider, Tegenaria sp. in Latin.

The Hobo Spider is I think an American name for Tegenaria agrestis - which is also in the UK. Was there any sort of web where you found your spider? Sometimes with these Tegenarias, you need to look at the epigyne to confirm an ID.

m600ant · #3 (**permalink**) 24-08-2009, 02:57 PM

No sorry, these are the only shots I've got of it. There was no web it was just on our living room curtain, I was just a bit worried it was a foreign spider that came in with shopping or something as i've never seen one this big in the UK before !! The legs are about the same span as the glass I cought it in, the picture doesn't really do it justice...

Venger · #4 (**permalink**) 24-08-2009, 05:03 PM

It won't have an epigyne Jason, its male

It's breeding time for these guys - they come wandering around your house looking for females.
They won't do you any harm, so relax.

Jason Green · #5 (**permalink**) 24-08-2009, 05:25 PM

- ah, I'm glad I didn't go into which sex I thought it was... could've made things worse... ''

*leaves thread rapidly...*

evilgrayson · #6 (**permalink**) 24-08-2009, 10:25 PM

Trust me, they can get a lot bigger than that. They're still harmless to humans, though.

Phoebe · #7 (**permalink**) 24-08-2009, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venger

It won't have an epigyne Jason, its male

It's breeding time for these guys - they come wandering around your house looking for females.
They won't do you any harm, so relax.

Breeding time! That explains why I have so many spiders in the house at the moment. There are three spiders in my bedroom on the slanted roof corner all only 10 inches apart. I love the way they close their legs up into a long narrow sort of length to squeeze into a corner

Thanks for the info Venger

Pigeon feather · #8 (**permalink**) 25-08-2009, 12:35 PM

Caught two on my living room carpet the other day, one I just happened to see whilst I was walking into the kitchen, great big female just stood stock still that I nearly trod on her, she scared the life out of me! the other was very similar to the one in this post racing around all over the place, guess he caught scent of the female!

naturegirl · #9 (**permalink**) 28-08-2009, 02:34 AM

I have found 3 of these guys with their 'boxing gloves' at the ready in my place in the last week!

I just re-locate them outside, no problem!

Naturegirl

jacobsmomma · #10 (**permalink**) 30-08-2009, 08:11 PM

I just so happened to nearly have swallowed one of the larger males the other night. I always take a drink of juice to bed, woke up in the middle of the night lifted glass and happened to see it floating on top, if it wasn't for the glow from the snakes tank I would have taken a drink, to say I nearly had a heart attack is an under statement lol. I always put something over the top of my glass now lol