Other Common Names
Yellow Sac Spider, Black-footed Spider
Identification
First leg longer than last, many species venomous.
(1)
C. mildei is a relatively small, pale greenish, tan or straw colored spider. Its front pair of legs is longer than the others, but all four pairs end in double claws. (
www.zoo.org)
Range
Mediterranean/Southern Europe; North America in buildings.
(1)Habitat
They make a resting tube in a rolled leaf or under bark or stones.
(1)Season
Indoor populations of C. mildei are non-seasonal and can be adult at any time.
Food
Any small invertebrate (e.g. - insects)
Life Cycle
After mating, females lay 30-48 eggs, cover them in a thin, white silken sac and guard them. The egg sacs may be found in protected areas, or even wrapped in a folded leaf. All stages of sac spiders make a silken cell (the "sac"), in which they rest when not active.
Remarks
Being Bitten:
Yellow sac spider bites occur most frequently when the very defensive spider is trapped in clothing.
As Rod Crawford points out "It turned out that the association of this spider with blisters and lesions was wrong, though accepted by everyone until recently. See the attached paper. I'd say this species ought to be taken off the medical concern list."
Sac spiders are classified as hunting spiders. These spiders are very active at night and will emerge from their day resting sacs to run along walls and ceilings in pursuit of prey. If startled, they drop down on draglines and scurry away!
Imported from Europe in the 1940s.
Print References
A Golden Guide Spiders and Their Kin, page 89
