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Photo#346559
Steatoda borealis - female

Steatoda borealis - Female
Marlton, Burlington County, New Jersey, USA
September 7, 2009
I'm naming these Steatoda borealis, but hope that Lynette and Mandy (and anyone else) will give their opinions. I would also like confirmation that the spider likely laid the eggs from our Steatoda raiser.

The image of the spider is poor because I never saw it off to the side of the web (at night) when I was photographing the fuzzy egg ball :-(
Maybe 6mm but just a bad guess.

I noticed that I had a poor image of the eggs from September 3, 2009, but it isn't really worth posting. I just wanted to add to the time line.

Images of this individual: tag all
Steatoda borealis - female Steatoda borealis Steatoda borealis Steatoda borealis Steatoda borealis Steatoda borealis Steatoda borealis Steatoda borealis Steatoda borealis Steatoda borealis

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

I would agree...
...that she is probably S. borealis. And although my 'specialty' is the grossa species I can tell you that the egg sac is exactly as I would expect a Steatoda to make. The eggs are clumped in the center in a nearly perfectly round cluster, and the silk is spread evenly but messily and loosely around the eggs. The spiderlings are definitely of the cob web type, and if that female was the only one near the sac, I would have to assume that the spiderlings are indeed hers. I'm curious, was this all taking place near the ground or up near the ceiling? Oh, and I like that this is a series.

 
Ceiling
Yes, almost all of the Steatoda I see are at the ceiling where it meets the wall. They seem to prefer the corner where the walls and ceiling join the best. I rarely see any lower than 4-6 feet (competition, youth, or an overhang of sorts seem to encourage some lower than the ceiling), the highest was just under the garage roof at about 10 ft? Normally they are difficult to photograph because I have to reach so high and can't brace as well as some bugs. I would say 90%(guess) live at 8 ft.

 
Thank you, that's interesting
Thank you, that's interesting to note.

 
S. borealis
looks right to me too.

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