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Photo#31614
upsidedown hobo? (Tegenaria spp.) - Eratigena agrestis - female

upsidedown hobo? (Tegenaria spp.) - Eratigena agrestis - Female
Yakima County, Washington, USA
September 14, 2005
Size: penny
Hey guys, it's me again. I found another (possible) female hobo. And obviously a better picture of it's underside. I have many more close ups like this one, but I don't know if I should post them all. Just let me know what you think, and THANKS AGAIN!!!!

Confirmed T. agrestis
This specimen was confirmed by an expert local to the submitter on 20 September, 2005.

Take it to an expert....
Fanastic photo! The two characteristics you photographed (the striped sternum and the shape of the epigynum) are very good indications for a hobo, based on the PDF published by Vetter and Antonelli.

I assume you used the PDF based on the excellence of the photo and knowing where to photograph, however please note that the PDF says:

Quote about the sternum: "However, be aware that in some specimens of the giant house and barn funnel weaving spiders, the spots are very, very faint and hence look very similar to a hobo spider."

Quote about the epigynum: "This is going to be more difficult than the male and you will surely need a microscope for this whereas with the male palp, sometimes a very good hand lens will suffice." (Underlining is my emphasis.)

So, to be 100% certain, you need to take the actual specimen to an expert. There's a very good chance this could be a hobo, but the actual specimen needs to be examined. (I'm not an expert, so I could not validate your photo).

If there are no experts in your area (that are within a convenient distance), contact the Washington University system (WSU or WU), and talk to the entomology dept.; explain your situation, and they will probably either give you someone to contact, and/or tell you how to ship the specimen for inspection. (Or at least look they might look at your photos (indicate you used the PDF as a guide), and give you a sense of yes or no... but I could not say for sure that they would do that. They would really want the physical specimen to be certain.)

Sorry I couldn't be more specific about your specimen. :(

A large number of the spiders in the world actually need to be examined microscopically to be ID'd/confirmed to a species, and this genus of spider falls into that category.

Please let us know the results.

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