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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynes » Cobweb Spiders (Theridiidae) » Parasteatoda » Common House Spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum)
Photo#348002
Common House Spider - Parasteatoda tepidariorum
Copyright © 2009 John Pearson

Common House Spider - Parasteatoda tepidariorum
Ackworth, Warren County, Iowa, USA
October 31, 2009
Size: ~6 mm body
Sitting in cobweb strung untidily across inner surface of cellar door of farmhouse. Normally the inner surface of this outside door faces downward into darkness, but opening it today into sunlight exposed the web and spider for photography. This was the largest spider, but a few smaller ones were also nearby, as were a few old egg sacs.

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Common House Spider - Parasteatoda tepidariorum Common House Spider - Parasteatoda tepidariorum Common House Spider - Parasteatoda tepidariorum
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Contributed by John Pearson on 31 October, 2009 - 4:54pm
Last updated 1 November, 2009 - 8:43pm

Moved
Moved from Spiders.

Thanks for the ID, Mandy. That photo you provided as a thumbnail link looks like a dead ringer for my second photo!
… John Pearson, 1 November, 2009 - 8:34pm login or register to post comments

Parasteatoda tepidariorum
Its definitely a Theridid cobweb spider. The only one I can think that this could be is Parasteatoda tepidariorum. And their egg sacs look exactly like the one in your photo (brownish paper). I have a lot of these here around the outside of my house and the adult females look just like this one after they've deposited their eggs. They also can look shriveled like this if they haven't eaten in a long time. Their common name is the American House Spider and they're not harmful to humans. Here's a similar specimen to check out:
… Mandy Howe, 1 November, 2009 - 6:47pm login or register to post comments

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