This is why I love the magic of the internet ...
I learned about a new spider today!! *grin*
A venomous, NORTH AMERICAN, spider that I didn't even know existed!!!
*blink*
So ... as I now debate whether I should post a picture or hide it politely behind a cut (*evil snickers*), allow me to introduce you to the
HOBO SPIDER, often (wrongly) called by a first attempt at a common name -- the "Aggressive House Spider).
Officially, he is the Tegenaria Agrestis, which translates to "mat weaver of the field", not "aggressive mat weaver". Related to this spider are two variations who share much of its range: the domestic or lesser house spider, Tegenaria domestica, and the giant or larger house spider, Tegenaria gigantea. Both sub-species are competitors which can successfully prevent the invasion of hobo spiders by the principle of competitive exclusion.
The term hobo spider was designated as the official common name of T. agrestis in July of 1994 by the Committee on Common Names of the American Arachnological Society, the organ charged with officializing common names of arachnids in North America. On May 31, 1996, the hobo became the third spider to be officially placed on the venomous spider list of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.). While still often incorrectly referred to as "brown recluse spider bite", the systemic effects manifest in these cases are more indicative of hobo spider poisoning (tegenarism) than of brown recluse spider poisoning (loxoscelism). Such bite cases began to appear in northern and central Utah in the late 1980's, when the hobo spider was not thought to occur in that state. The hobo spider is now the leading cause of serious envenomation in the northwestern United States. (Info last updated in 1999.)
This information taken from a webiste Dedicated to Hobo Spiders ... originally organized by a man by the name of Darwin Vest, who disappeared in 1999 ... see the website for information & if you KNOW of any, pass it along to the family.
Just to draw out the suspense, I'll get to the photos later! *grin*
A venomous, NORTH AMERICAN, spider that I didn't even know existed!!!
*blink*
So ... as I now debate whether I should post a picture or hide it politely behind a cut (*evil snickers*), allow me to introduce you to the
HOBO SPIDER, often (wrongly) called by a first attempt at a common name -- the "Aggressive House Spider).
Officially, he is the Tegenaria Agrestis, which translates to "mat weaver of the field", not "aggressive mat weaver". Related to this spider are two variations who share much of its range: the domestic or lesser house spider, Tegenaria domestica, and the giant or larger house spider, Tegenaria gigantea. Both sub-species are competitors which can successfully prevent the invasion of hobo spiders by the principle of competitive exclusion.
The term hobo spider was designated as the official common name of T. agrestis in July of 1994 by the Committee on Common Names of the American Arachnological Society, the organ charged with officializing common names of arachnids in North America. On May 31, 1996, the hobo became the third spider to be officially placed on the venomous spider list of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.). While still often incorrectly referred to as "brown recluse spider bite", the systemic effects manifest in these cases are more indicative of hobo spider poisoning (tegenarism) than of brown recluse spider poisoning (loxoscelism). Such bite cases began to appear in northern and central Utah in the late 1980's, when the hobo spider was not thought to occur in that state. The hobo spider is now the leading cause of serious envenomation in the northwestern United States. (Info last updated in 1999.)
This information taken from a webiste Dedicated to Hobo Spiders ... originally organized by a man by the name of Darwin Vest, who disappeared in 1999 ... see the website for information & if you KNOW of any, pass it along to the family.
Just to draw out the suspense, I'll get to the photos later! *grin*