The American House Spider is a Comb-Footed spider. It has long, skinny legs and comb-like hairs on the back tarsi ('ankles'). They fling strings of their spider silk at insects that get entangled in their web. The victim is then bitten, injected with venom and eaten at a later time. It is moved from the web to allow other prey to fall into the trap.
They have bulbous abdomen, neither spherical nor flat. This spider is inconspicuous and rarely bothers humans. They may opt to 'play dead' if threatened. If handled roughly though, they may bite. Their venom is not lethal to humans like their relative's, the Black Widow.
Smaller males approach a female's web when ready to mate. A courtship 'dance' or ritual follows, ensuring the spiders do not attack each other. Watch below to see a part of this ritual:
Females lay eggs in a pear-shaped, brownish egg case and hangs it from the web. Females guard their eggs until they hatch and can live fore more than a year.
©2005-2017 www.InsectIdentification.org. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction Permitted. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from www.InsectIdentification.org is strictly prohibited. Material presented throughout this website is for entertainment value and should not to be construed as usable for scientific research or medical advice (insect bites, etc...). Please consult licensed, degreed professionals for such information. Email corrections / Comments to InsectIdentification at Gmail dot com.
Kingdom: