Steatoda Grossa: False Black Widow (2)

We're running across more and more Steatoda grossa in the house these days. There were the spiderlings in the kitchen, the one in the bathtub, another under the sink, and one under a backpack this morning. The three yellow lines on the abdomen (You can see them in this picture, if you look) are very helpful in identifying them.

I've been catching them--easy to do, just stick a jar over them, wait til they web to the bottom, turn it over, and put the lid on--and taking them outside to release them. They are not particularly venomous to humans, though reportedly their bites do hurt, and they eat black widows. I figure everyone will be happy with them outside. I read in one photographer's blog that putting them in the fridge for a while might slow them down long enough for photographs, and I thought I'd try it and see if I could get some ventral views, but I didn't want to hurt the spider, so I guess I didn't leave it in long enough: He took off as soon as the jar was turned over outside. This is one of two pictures I snapped as he dashed toward the nearest plant and hid himself under the saucer. I'm going to try to see if I can spot him near the rim of the saucer tonight, but I bet I won't. The Steatodas seem to be very light-sensitive and hide when I get near with the light.

Steatoda Grossa: False Black Widow

 So, I'm learning that there are things that look like Black Widows but aren't.  They are all in the same family,Theridiidae, and all have the same hunched up body shape, but they are not all widows. They do, by all accounts, have a painful bite, just not up to widow standards.

Anyway, here are a few I've seen around the house and yard. These, I'm pretty sure are steatoda grossa (There are at least 3 kinds called "False black widow," so the scientific name comes in handy here). They're very shy. The widows I photograph just sit around and let me use the flash, the adult grossa outside runs into the plant saucer where he lives (he's bugguide ID'd as a male). The other--the one on the orange and white background--was racing across the bathroom wall, and I never did get a really clear shot.

Then there are the spiderlings: Someone told me they might be widows, but this was corrected: Apparently black widow babies aren't black--in fact, I have a picture of one I'll post tomorrow. Crazy, isn't it?

Spiderlings in the kitchen