A predator in the house

Or almost. This gal -- measuring 31/2 inches -- was/is on the inside of the screen door to our downstairs sunroom -- between the screen and the glass door.

She's a great bugcatcher.





Now, what to name her.

Hi Jim,
Whatever you do, do not show this to your granddaughter.
regards, Sunip

Nah. She'd take it home. It wouldn't bother her at all.

She's a beaut. I wonder what kind of spider it is.

I think they're called wolf spiders.

She's a beauty Jim. When ever I see one in the house I get startled, but then I will collect them to release outside. They can be very fast but usully comply when I tell them that I want to protect them from the dogs and cats. I also collect Black Widows to release if I find them in the house. Your picture is great!
Todd

You guys are crazy! What if this is the baby one! Check your cellar, but don't go down there without your nail gun

Well, I'm quite fond of spiders, and all that (except when I walk blindly throgh one of their webs out in the woods and get it wrapped around my head), but I don't think I'd be so kind to a black widow.

We have spiders here in Australia that are extremely similar to this one and we know them as Huntsman Spiders. Can grow up to 6" (I've seen them at least 4" tip to tip). These are not considered dangerous to humans - our Redbacks are!! They are a close relative of your Black Widows. Our Wolf spiders are considerably smaller - but no less impressive.
We also have a nasty one called a 'white tail' spider. The bite from these can cause virtually untreatable necrosis of flesh tissue in susceptible people and can result in amputation of severely affected limbs - doesn't affect everyone in that way though.

Your "white tail" sounds a bit like the Brown Recluse spider we have. It too causes necrosis in some people and many pople are hospitalized from their bites.

All in all, however, spiders are "good guys." Finding a few in your trees just means there were things to eat there, and many of those "things" could be harming your trees.

I'm generally "spider-neutral" - I leave them alone for the most part when I find them around the house. Living here in the frozen north, there aren't too many big spiders. But when I lived in Virginia - some of those giants (like the one pictured in the original post) did freak me out a bit! I would not be happy to see that thing in my house, even though I know it's a beneficial critter. Guess I do have a little bit of arachnophobia in me.

Black widows on the other hand...we had them everywhere in Virginia. You really couldn't do any yard work at all without gloves, as they were in the grass, under logs, etc. Never saw any in the house, though they were probably there. I do have to say, though, that they can be beautiful - jet black with those red markings.

Chris

Howzit Jim,

They look like some of the cane spider we have in Hawaii. Just as big and scary.

A Hui Hou,
-Tim

Aloha, Tim . . .

I remember those. We'd find them in the Panex hedge that surrounded our house in Kailua (Oahu). I was a pre-teen and teen then (pre-historic, I know; this was in 1948-52) and I remember them as being BIG.

I just looked hem up. They are big -- up to 5 inches! They are, however, not native to Hawaii. They probably got there in a ship with the Missionaries (don't say they never gave you anything!). They're supposed to be in Florida (and the Caribbean, too), but not up where I lived.

From Google Images:

YES there are!!.... when it's harvest time and they burn the cane you'll see them running around on the dirt roads. What fun!!

A Hui Hou,
-Tim

I have seen two in my garage. I dont like 'em one bit.

found on Google:

Wolf Spiders ...venomous - non-aggressive


Venom toxicity - the bite of the Wolf Spider is poisonous but not lethal. Although non-aggressive, they bite freely if provoked and should be considered dangerous to humans. The bite may be very painful. First aid and medical attention should be sought as soon as possible, particularly as to children or the elderly.

Spider Identification - an adult is 1/2 inch to more than 1 inch in body length - mottled gray to brown in color, with a distinct Union Jack impression on its back. The female carries it's young on its back.

Habitat - this spider is a ground dweller, with a burrow retreat. It has a roving nocturnal lifestyle to hunt their prey and can move very rapidly when disturbed. Commonly found around the home, in garden areas with a silk lined burrow, sometimes with a lid or covered by leaf litter or grass woven with silk as a little fence around the rim of the burrow.