# ID this spider please **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2024, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141 "2024-01-16T00:10:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/1 "2024-01-16T00:10:58Z")
[This guy.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/424f952a-7860-47f3-a9c3-21e3ba1801dd_l.jpg) Not a Widow. Pretty good sized. Seen on the central coast, California. Pretty sure it’s not a Recluse, I’ve seen those. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/2 "2024-01-16T00:15:08Z")
Pretty sure I don’t wanna know. Or be near. Or ever see again. Ever. IMHO I’m going with fat or preggers brown recluse ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/3 "2024-01-16T00:17:08Z")
I’m guessing false black widow. > **[Steatoda grossa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steatoda_grossa)** > > Steatoda grossa, commonly known as the cupboard spider, the dark comb-footed spider, the brown house spider (in Australia), or the false widow or false black widow (though several other species are known by these names), is a common species of spider in the genus Steatoda. > It is a cosmopolitan species found in many parts of the world, including North America, Australasia, and Europe. > As two of this spider's common names indicate, the spider superficially resembles, and is frequently confused ... ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/4 "2024-01-16T00:19:01Z")
^^^ Beat me to it. Immediately thought “cupboard spider.” ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/5 "2024-01-16T00:21:43Z")
A point of interest and one worth considering, I think: > **[Brown Widow Spiders Pushing Out Black Widows In California](https://www.kpbs.org/news/environment/2012/07/09/brown-widow-spiders-pushing-out-black-widows-calif)** > > The notorious black widow spider is being displaced by its brown cousin. The non-native brown widow outnumbers the black widow 20-to-1 in some parts of California, according to a new report. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/6 "2024-01-16T00:24:58Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Pretty sure I don’t wanna know. > Or be near. > Or ever see again. Scary, to be sure. NM. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/7 "2024-01-16T00:32:31Z")
[ Triangulate cobweb spider? ](https://www.google.com/search?q=brown+spider+large+abdomen&tbm=isch&chips=q:brown+spider+large+abdomen,online_chips:triangulate+cobweb+spider:2Lag8xcoyMI%3D&prmd=ihsvnmbtz&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjI8M2y0-CDAxU_IGIAHTr9DZgQ4lYoA3oECAEQOg&biw=1215&bih=597) ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/8 "2024-01-16T01:42:53Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Pretty sure it’s not a Recluse Yeah, brown recluses don’t live in California. Anywhere. Even if they did, that isn’t one. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I’m going with fat or preggers brown recluse Why? Because its brown?? Not every brown spider is a brown recluse. Also, there is no such thing as a pregnant spider. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > A point of interest and one worth considering, I think: That is interesting (really), but the OP’s pic looks exactly like a female false widow (cupboard spider). Brown widows look like black widows but with a case of vitilgo. They aren’t as dangerous as black widows but still are not to be trifled with. Cupboard spiders, while venemous, do not contain the potentially fatal neurotoxins that spiders in the widow family deliver. Brown recluse bites are nothing compared to a black widow bite (usually, ymmv but hopefully you will never need to find out). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/9 "2024-01-16T01:54:21Z")
FWIW, many of us probably have false black widows under our couches right now. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/10 "2024-01-16T01:58:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > FWIW, many of us probably have false black widows under our couches right now. - Speak for yourself. I sit on a divan. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/11 "2024-01-16T01:59:57Z")
Ooh, ain’t you fancy! I have a papazan chair, so what spiders sit under THAT? > [@Lancia](#): > > . Also, there is no such thing as a pregnant spider. Also, pretty sure they can’t get fat, the way we squishy mammals do. Exoskeleton and all. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/12 "2024-01-16T02:02:31Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Also, pretty sure they can’t get fat That too. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/13 "2024-01-16T02:04:24Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Ooh, ain’t you fancy! \< stage whisper \> In reality, it’s the most uncomfortable sofa ever, and I can’t get rid of it because a friend rebuilt and recovered it gratis and I don’t want to hurt her feelings. No self-respecting spider would be caught dead living in its structure. Not even a sweet false black widow! ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/14 "2024-01-16T02:05:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > FWIW, many of us probably have false black widows under our couches right now ::shudder:: I saw my first black widow in a pumpkin I had carved for Halloween. I saw my second black widow crawling up the side of my couch. Widows give me a serious case of the willies. Aspenglow’s article freaks me out. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/15 "2024-01-16T02:09:05Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Widows give me a serious case of the willies. How 'bout this, then? I was hosing out a diving bootie, and a black widow crawled out onto my wrist. She didn’t live long. My dad was bitten by a black widow on his calf, and he had an ulcerated wound for weeks. I like spiders… but I do not tolerate black widows. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/16 "2024-01-16T02:17:21Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > saw my first black widow in a pumpkin I had carved for Halloween Was this before, or after, the chanting? ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/17 "2024-01-16T02:17:38Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > How 'bout this, then? When someone asks me what the most dreadful moment of my life was, I tell them the time my vasectomy incisions were cauterized: looking down and seeing actual smoke wafting out of a hole in my junk was… well, it was an experience that was not for the faint of heart. Had I experienced a black widow crawling on me, _that_ would take the cake. I can’t even imagine that without feeling a panic attack coming on. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/18 "2024-01-16T02:35:10Z")
Ummm. Mostly I just guessed. Brown, fat. I rest my case. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/19 "2024-01-16T03:15:25Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > > > Pretty sure I don’t wanna know. > > Or be near. > > Or ever see again. > > Scary, to be sure. Nah. I think it’s kind of pretty. I’m not good at identifying spiders, though. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I like spiders… but I do not tolerate black widows. They’re not after you, though. I spent a college summer on a dig in Missouri, living basically camping out; we used an outhouse. Which was full of black widows. You took a flashlight to the john at night so you wouldn’t put a hand on one by accident. One person got one bite that whole summer, and he had no reaction (sometimes they’ve got venom, sometimes they’ve recently used it all up so they don’t.) If they had any chance to get out of your way, they did that – you’re way too big for them to eat, and pose far more danger to them than they’re going to risk by hanging around within your reach. I was freaked out by spiders before that summer; but I got over it fast. Not a technique I’d recommend to everybody, but for me it worked. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141/20 "2024-01-16T03:21:20Z")
That’s Boris, I’m pretty sure. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-spider-please/996141.md?page=2)