Long bodied cellar spider southern california
Survival is low in modern homes with low humidity and few insects, higher in garages, sheds, barns, warehouses, etc. Eventually, successful webs are constructed where air currents bring in prey. If a web does not yield prey (food) it is abandoned, another site is selected, and a new web uilt. The house spider randomly selects its web sites and creates a tangled web. Females molt 7 times and males 6 or 7 times to reach maturity. The 2nd instar spiderlings then emerge and balloon. The eggs hatch in about 7-10 days but the 1st instar spiderlings remain in the sac until they molt once. The sacs are usually located in the center of the web but may be moved to warmer or cooler sites as required. There may be more than one sac in the web at a time a female may produce up to 17 sacs, containing over 3,760 eggs, in her lifetime. Female house spiders lay about 250 eggs (range 132-442) in a silken sac which is brownish, oval to flask-shaped, about 1/4-3/8" (6-9 mm) in diameter, and with a tough, papery cover. (3) Other spiders lack comb of serrated bristles on last tarsal segment of 4th pair of legs and 8 eyes with 2 lateral pairs almost touching.īIOLOGY. (2) Tidarren sisyphiodes with a distinctive white stripe on posterior of abdomen. Last tarsal segment of 4th pair of legs with row/comb of serrated bristles on venter all tarsi with 3 claws each. With 8 eyes, 2 lateral pairs almost touching. Color highly variable with carapace (cephalothorax dorsum) yellowish brown abdomen dirty white with a few dark spots (sometimes with a black triangular spot in center of dorsum) to almost black, with several dark stripes meeting at angle medially (=chevrons/“army sergeant stripes") above tip of abdomen legs orange in male but yellow in female, with dusky ring at end of each segment (=banded). Adult female body length about 3/16-5/16" (5-8 mm) including an almost spherical abdomen, male body length about 1/8-3/16" (3.8-4.7 mm) including an elongated abdomen.
This spider is found worldwide and is common throughout the United States and Canada. It is a nuisance pest, probably more because of its webs than the spider itself. The common names reflect the fact that this is usually the spider most often encountered indoors.