Montana Arachnids (Spiders and Allies) - Part 1 (Spiders)

[hengruh]

I put together some info on insects in Montana a few posts ago, so now I am tackling spiders and other arachnids. As with insects, there is no comprehensive source on Montana spiders, so I had to collate materials from the internet and books. The sources are found at the bottom of this post.

Following are some of the most common types of spiders

Comments

Hobo Spiders and Aggressive House Spiders

[ext_946365]

According to this source: http://www.hobospiders.net/ , hobo spiders and aggressive house spiders are different. Take a look at the note below the photo of a house spider.

And about their geographic distribution, they can be found in Oregon, Idaho, (Wyoming2), Montana, Utah, Washington and Southern British Columbia in Canada. You can also find the info there.:)

Re: Hobo Spiders and Aggressive House Spiders

[hengruh]

That site is in error unfortunately. it just paraphrases the information on the Hobo Spider entry in Wikipedia and makes a few errors in the process

Re: Hobo Spiders and Aggressive House Spiders

[ext_2075893]

Ok i didnt know how to ask a question on here so im using thisi have a spider actually numerous that i dont know what they are a dark brown almost black shiney shaped like a widow but smaller they have white dots on tummy havent seen any hourglass but they hang togeathern i dont like it because its usually on my childrens strollers n outside toys no matter where i put them they appear there again which is widow behavior as communitys can u help me figureout what it is

Re: Hobo Spiders and Aggressive House Spiders

[hengruh]

DO they look like this when they are hanging together? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Patas_20100626.jpg

If so, they are: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opiliones

spider in my bathroom

[anonymous]

Hi, I have a small ish spider in my bathroom that is grey, furry and has a white heart on his bum. Bout the size of a quarter. seems friendly so I dont want to dispose of him or her. But I have small children so I would like to know if it is dangerous. Help me!!

Re: spider in my bathroom

[hengruh]

If you are in Montana, it's not dangerous. Only the black widow and the hobo spider are dangerous (some people say the brown recluse is here but others say no). In any case, the dangerous ones don't look anything like what you describe. But you might want to carefully take it and place it somewhere else, so no one freaks out :-)

Hobo spiders in Montana

[anonymous]

Hengruh is right to dispute your description of the Hobo vs. the similar-looking but non-venomous American House Spider, as both of them do have the chevron on their abdomens

Re: Hobo spiders in Montana

[hengruh]

I've always liked wolf spiders. I used to watch them hunt in dry creek beds among the stones.

Orb weaver spider

[anonymous]

I live in the upper Rattlesnake Valley in Missoula. We often see orb-weavers and their web around our house in the fall, but not in the spring or summer. Why? We like them and delight in putting captured house flies or grasshoppers in their web.

Re: Orb weaver spider

[hengruh]

I don't know. That's a good question :-)

scared to death of spiders and need help

[anonymous]

I was taking a shower and when I got out there was an ugly little spider have never seen before, crawling on my toilet paper role! It is dark brown and moves like and resembles a crab. I noticed above that crab spiders are indigenous to outside areas and are usually bright. So what is this spider? What is it doing in my sealed bathroom? And is it dangerous? Please help!

Re: scared to death of spiders and need help

[hengruh]

During the winter a lot of "outside" species come inside. None of the species that look like crabs are dangerous.