# Spider ID **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 19, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id/423347 "2007-10-19T23:26:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [October 19, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id/423347/1 "2007-10-19T23:26:14Z")
I caught a spider today. It’s shaped like a black widow, and is a very dark (almost black) brown. I caught it behind my couch in a dark corner. Its underside is a lighter shade of brown. There is no hourglass. Instead there are two small white spots where the legs emerge, and a thin white longitudinal line. I don’t think I can get a good photo of it. Can anyone identify it from its description? This is in Northwestern Washington. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id/423347/2 "2007-10-19T23:41:05Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] I caught a spider today. It’s shaped like a black widow, and is a very dark (almost black) brown. I caught it behind my couch in a dark corner. Its underside is a lighter shade of brown. There is no hourglass. Instead there are two small white spots where the legs emerge, and a thin white longitudinal line. I don’t think I can get a good photo of it. Can anyone identify it from its description? This is in Northwestern Washington. [/QUOTE] Let’s see. It shaped like a black widow, but looks different, is a different color, has no hourglass, and has different markings. This aught to be easy. 😉 Okay, seriously, it sounds like one of the many brown recluse spiders, but I don’t know what their markings are. But I’m sure you know the nasty ol’ recluse. Someone here has a link to a spider ID site. Maybe he/she will chime in. Sorry about the smarty pants reply, I just want to get on the “notify” list. 🙂 ---
**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:** [October 19, 2007, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id/423347/3 "2007-10-19T23:47:15Z")
No, not a brown recluse. It’s shaped like a black widow, and about the same size as a medium-sized one. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id/423347/4 "2007-10-19T23:49:37Z")
Here’s a [limited site](http://www.termite.com/spider-identification.html), but they’ll send you a real cool spider ID chart. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id/423347/5 "2007-10-19T23:53:24Z")
Johnny LA, If it’s shaped like a black widow, probably not a recluse, as they don’t have the more rounded abdomen of a Black Widow. My really offhand guess is some sort of Orb weaver, as they are making themselves more visible this time of year, and have a very rounded abdomen. [This site](http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/easy.html#markings) is from the Burke Museum of Natural History in Seattle. Scroll down and look at the photos on the far right. Is that in the right direction? ---
**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:** [October 19, 2007, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id/423347/6 "2007-10-19T23:58:14Z")
Not an orb weaver. Its web is a bit of a messy cobweb. I’ll try to get a photo. ---
**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:** [October 20, 2007, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id/423347/7 "2007-10-20T00:11:09Z")
No luck on the photos. My little CoolPix just isn’t up to the task of macrophotography. Anyway, I’m kind of leaning toward some sort of _Steatoda_, or ‘false black widow’ or ‘cupboard spider’. In better light the abdomen is lighter than I thought it was, and appears to have a little mottling on it. [http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/inverts/stea-gro.html](http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/inverts/stea-gro.html) ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2007, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id/423347/8 "2007-10-20T00:16:06Z")
[Here’s another Washington site](http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1548/eb1548.html). Hope it might help. ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2007, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id/423347/9 "2007-10-20T00:25:04Z")
I would put money on it being a false widow of the genus steadota. Their range of coloration is vast. [http://www.spiderzrule.com/steadota.htm](http://www.spiderzrule.com/steadota.htm)