Arachnids › Comb-footed Spiders

Common House Spider

Parasteatoda tepidariorum

Easily confused with

Study checks a spoken answer against these, and tells you which one you named.

Where it is recorded

Records by month in Alaska.January 101, February 75, March 117, April 184, May 265, June 289, July 309, August 266, September 195, October 146, November 80, December 62.
United States6,723
Alaska2,088
North Carolina1,760
Virginia1,309
Massachusetts1,075
Maryland1,013
Washington919
Canada808
Georgia785
Pennsylvania783

Counts show where people looked, not only where it lives.

Traits

Behavioral

  • CarnivoreEats other animals or animal-derived prey as a major part of its diet.Inferred from its group

Physical

  • ExoskeletonHas a hard external skeletonFrom its classification

Practical

  • VenomousProduces venom for defense or huntingFrom its classification

Group and habits

  • PredatorDescends from an animal lineage whose members commonly hunt other animals.Inferred from its group

Classification

KingdomAnimals · Animalia
PhylumArthropods · Arthropoda
ClassArachnids · Arachnida
OrderSpiders · Araneae
FamilyComb-footed Spiders · Theridiidae
GenusColourful Comb-footed Spiders · Parasteatoda

Sources

Remember the name next time.

Practise Common House Spider with real photos from different observers. Say the name out loud, and it comes back just before you would forget it.