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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynes » Funnel-Web Spiders (Agelenidae) » Tegenaria
Photo#203183
Spider Query - Tegenaria
Copyright © 2008 John

Spider Query - Tegenaria
Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Size: 1 inch
Will you please help identify these spiders? We live in Michigan so I am worried about my children running into a Brown Recluse. We have a partially finished basement where we are encountering MANY spiders (3-5 large ones/day + a few other smaller ones).

I have included a few images. There is another type which I was unable to photograph since it is so fast. I am sorry I am not comfortable with spiders :) When it is large enough to be startled by its shadow streaking through your peripheral vision, it is spooky (only very little exaggeration here :) They are like Spider3.jpg, but much 'meatier' and hairier.

I am sorry Spider4c.jpg is quite blurry, but I am guessing it is a jumping spider? It was very black and hairy with bright bluish marks, very fast, running with 'fits and starts'.

On the overexposed Spider5c.jpg, are the dark spots in front eyes, with the flash shining back from one?


Thanks for your help.
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Contributed by John on 18 July, 2008 - 2:32pm
Last updated 18 July, 2008 - 3:44pm

As already mentioned, you are
As already mentioned, you are outside of the distribution range for Loxosceles reclusa, the only one that would come close to Michigan. Therefore, as I tell my sister (South Dakota), only half in jest, you would be better off worrying about the growth and speed (esp. speed) of traffic in your neighborhood streets, whether your children can walk to school, etc. But, that of course, is not what you were asking about, so feel free to tell me to mind my own business. :-)

The chevron pattern on the back is characteristic of this common house spider; on the cephalothorax (front half) here you also see no dark "violin" shape which is characteristic of the recluse spider.

Have a look at this fact sheet from the Ohio State University extension service.
… Kevin Pfeiffer, 19 July, 2008 - 3:14am login or register to post comments

Moved
I moved this image to the guide page. I think the rest of these should probably be frassed.
… Lynette Schimming, 18 July, 2008 - 3:46pm login or register to post comments

You're not likely to encounte
You're not likely to encounter a recluse spider in Michigan.

This looks like one of the funnel web spiders from Genus Tegenaria. It is harmless.
… Jebus31, 18 July, 2008 - 3:16pm login or register to post comments

I don't see any here that look like the brown recluse.
Moreover, according to the map on our brown recluse guide page, you're not even within its known range. A couple of these, including this one, look like wolf spiders to me (harmless to you, as are by far the vast majority of spiders). I'm no spider expert, but I think you can stop worrying about any danger from these.

FYI here's what an actual brown recluse looks like:

male: female
… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 18 July, 2008 - 2:42pm login or register to post comments

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