What spider is this in my house?

This really oversized spider is back every year, they are two and very fast. I always threw them out, but they keep coming back. Aren’t these a bit too intense for the home?

Thanks in advance!

Asker: paul, 36 years old

Answer

These spiders are very common in the house, they are not called “House Spider” for nothing. This is about a male of a house spider species (genus Tegenaria). There are several species that can live in houses, with the smaller species reaching a body size of about 10 mm, including the common house spider (Tegenaria domestica). The larger species can have a body up to 16 mm long (females are slightly larger than males). It is difficult to say with certainty which species it is based on the photo (usually one has to look at the shape of the appendages on the head in the males or the sexual structures in the females). This is clearly a male, because at the front of the head two appendages can be seen, the last part of which is clearly widened. They use that to transfer seed packets into a female’s genital opening.

Well, they may look big and scary, but they’re totally harmless. I also regularly have to put a wandering man outside with a soft hand at my house.

Answered by

Prof. dr. dr. Dominique Adriaens

evolutionary morphology vertebrates ichthyology (fish biology) anatomy histology morphometry evolution

university of Ghent

http://www.ugent.be

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