'Puffy' Spider ID? - Steatoda bipunctata

"Puffiness"

Female spiders tend to look like that just before they lay their eggs.

… Chuck Entz, 22 May, 2006 - 1:23am

Araneus?

It's body shape certainly looks like Araneus but I couldn't find a spider exactly like this one.

… birder14, 21 May, 2006 - 8:10pm

Reminds us more of Steatoda

perhaps

, but Jeff may be able to give you a firm ID

… john and jane balaban, 21 May, 2006 - 9:00pm

Steatoda bipunctata perhaps?

Thanks for the suggestion. After reading your comment on this being a possible Steatoda, I went looking for other references. Steatoda bipunctata (Linnaeus, 1758), is listed as resident in Newfoundland according to Hackman, W. (1954). The Spiders of Newfoundland. Acta, Zoologica Fennica 79:1-99: (1954). In addition, the website, Amateur Spinnen von Jürgen Peters, has a photo for entry 25.12.2005 Steatoda bipunctata (Fettspinne, Weibchen) that looks to be very, very similar to my photo.

I should also mention that this spider kept spinning erratic webs while I was photographing him/her. Apparently this type of web is typical of Steatoda bipunctata, as is the location where we found it above our basement door.

Does this help with an ID? Is mine Steatoda bipunctata?

… Mardon Erbland, 22 May, 2006 - 7:42am

Great

images! I agree with Steatoda as well, and you seem to have IDed it to species.
At 7mm it is likely an adult female.

… Jeff Hollenbeck, 22 May, 2006 - 4:52pm

Will move but...

Thanks Jeff! I'm delighted to get comments from you because it's obvious that almost everyone here at BugGuide turns to you for the final word on spiders! :)

I'll move these photos then to Steatoda. There is not a species page on BugGuide for S. bipunctata, so should I just move it to the Genus page or is there a procedure to ask that a new species page be created when one doesn't exist?

… Mardon Erbland, 22 May, 2006 - 6:00pm

Thanks

but I still have a lot to learn. I will make a page for you.

… Jeff Hollenbeck, 25 May, 2006 - 8:21pm