Sac Spider's 'Home' - BugGuide.Net

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Copyright © 2006 Mardon Erbland

Sac Spider's 'Home'

Logy Bay, Northeast Avalon, Newfoundland/Labrador, Canada
May 2, 2006
Size: 18 mm body (approx)

I snapped a small dead branch off of a tree in our back yard today and when I looked at the broken end, there was a spider emerging from a cocoon like sac within the branch. The hollow space inside the branch was 5 mm in diameter. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a photo before the spider had completely emerged from his home. I did take several after he began crawling around (and FAST too!) Can anyone help with an ID? I found the spider about 1:30 PM local time (NDT).

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Sac Spider's 'Home'

Contributed by Mardon Erbland on 2 May, 2006 - 1:19pm
Last updated 19 March, 2023 - 3:52pm

Just its "home"?

I don't know much about spiders, but I don't think either "hatching" or "cocoon" would apply here. Baby spiders do hatch from egg sacs, but my impression is that generally there are a lot of them and they're tiny; e.g.:

And they don't form cocoons like caterpillars, they just shed their skin (exoskeleton) as they grow. I think the webbing is just its nest.

… Peter Hollinger, 2 May, 2006 - 3:01pm

I agree

I'm thinking it's a type of sac spider. Your "cocoon" is actually it's sac or resting tube(home).

… Lynette Elliott, 2 May, 2006 - 5:24pm

My Sac is My Home

Thank you, Lynette, and Peter also. I had no idea that some spiders make sacs like this as a place to call 'home'. I thought all spiders rested in webs but now I now differently. I'm certainly enjoying the BugGuide web pages. Since i started posting photos here a few days ago, I already know way more about 'bugs' than I ever knew before. :)

… Mardon Erbland, 2 May, 2006 - 6:07pm

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