Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Eastern Parson's Spider

This afternoon when I got home from work I noticed this little spider crawling around in front of the door to the house. I could tell right away it was different than any spider I'd seen before. It had approximately a 3/4 inch legspan, was all black with reddish colored legs, and beautiful white pattern on its abdomen. I photographed it and submitted the photo to spideridentification.org and received an answer very quickly from Lady Aracnophile who identified it as an Eastern Parsons Spider (Herpyllus ecclesiasticus). She even provided a link to bugguide.net where other images of this spider are located. Apparently they are almost identical to the Western Parsons Spider (H. propinquus). To adequately differentiate them you have to look closely at their reproductive organs. I was able to provide an image of the underside of this spider which hopefully helped in accurately identifying this spider.

(No spider was harmed in the taking of this photo)

They get their common name of Parsons Spider from the white markings on the abdomen which are said to resemble the cravat worn by parsons or ministers during the 1800's. This spider is harmless to humans and pets, in fact they are only harmful to the prey they actively hunt, which is commonly other spiders. They do not build webs like many other spiders, instead they are ground spiders that roam around to hunt for their food.  They are voracious eaters and chase their food down and overpower it. They are commonly found in houses, which is where this one was headed when I stopped it for a photo shoot then placed it in the garden.

They will spin silk to create hide-a-ways to retreat to during the day. Silk is also used by this spider to spin egg sacs, that the female will guard until the spiderlings emerge. 

I've been actively studying and photographing insects and spiders for 7 years and just when I think I can't possibly find anything I haven't previously seen, I am pleasantly surprised by creatures like this parsons spider. Just goes to show, when it come to the tiny majority, there is no end to the wonderful discoveries to be found.

29 comments:

  1. Six years ago, on a subfreezing January day in Frederick, Marland, I rolled a log over to see what I could find underneath. I found two of these spiders. They were moving very slowly trying to find new hiding places. I took one back home to Austin for identification. I had 3 or 4 live spiders with me, and the TSA agent waved me on, allowing me to take them on the plane.

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  2. That is amazing that they didn't try to keep you from taking them with you. I am constantly amazed at the different species of insects and spiders I find around our farm. This is such a beautiful species too.

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  3. Wonderful! That's why I love insect macro photography so much. You never run out of subjects!

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  4. Hi there Moe, long time to see around here. I hope everything is going well with you. I am sure you are like me and anxious to get out and enjoy the warming weather.
    I am absolutely hooked on macro photography. I love it, and you are right there is never a shortage of interesting subjects.

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  5. Nice! I find these in my house in Wichita Kansas, along with brown recluse, wolf spiders, and jumping spiders. Thank you for helping me identify it. I'm tempted to let him go in the house where he can chase down the recluse.

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  6. You're welcome and glad to help. I had to laugh though when I saw this comment, because this morning I was taking a bath and was lounged back relaxing when I felt something crawling on my leg UNDER the water, when I looked it was one of these spiders. It startled me and I lifted my leg and flicked him across the room. It gathered its wits and roamed off into my daughters room.....oopsie :o)

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  7. I just found one of these! So creepy looking. I was laying down with my daughter tonight and it ran up the curtains. My first thought was Omfg!. But instead of a smushing, I got it into a cup and put him outside. So glad I found this to know it isn't poisonous. Thank you. The last one, was eaten by my cat. Sorry.

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  8. I found one and captured it in a clear tub with lid. I had it in there for a couple days before i got around to looking it up. It ended up weaving a sac of what looks like eggs and a yellow under layer. I put a cricket in and instantly was weaved in next to the sac. one question... How many and how long before they hatch?

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  9. I kill as many spiders as I can... they are nasty creatures... they make me want to vomit!

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  10. My husband was bitten 14 times over a 3 day stretch by a Parson spider. We live in Michigan. We were told that if it had been our 5 month old daughter and not my husband that she would be very sick. But the bites raised up and itched really bad. And from where he got bit it started spreading all over the place. I am not sure why I did not get bit. But I am happy that we found her. My husband had me put her outside. The next night she way back in our house again. I attached a piece of short thread to her middle so I could Idenify her again. And here she was. Not in our bed this time but our daughters. So we were told to get rid of her.

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    Replies
    1. Spider bites do not spread the way rashes spread. Also, spiders only bite if a human pinches them. They wouldn't bite a person 14 times--they just dont do that type of thing. It sounds like your dr misdiagnosed your husbands condition.

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  11. thank you for the ID on this little bugger. i rescued a hibernating one from getting crunched during a move. it warmed up and woke up on me so i've got it in a little critter keeper until the weather warms up.. it's taking a drink from a drip of water i gave it as i type :)

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  12. Though not notably poisonous, the fact that these spiders will bite sleeping people is a risk of not only allergic reaction, but also for opportunistic infection. I have had series of bites that ended with waking up to finding a Parson's spider in my bed a few times. I no longer hesitate to kill members of this species since an individual will find its way back to the area in which it was previously feeding.

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    Replies
    1. Spiders do not feed on human beings. Ever. It is not even biologically possible.

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    2. Spiders do not feed on human beings. Ever. It is not even scientifically possible.

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  13. Can you keep parson spiders as pets, if so what do they eat. Because I had caught one put it in a container with holes and a cricket it never ate the cricket

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  14. Can you keep parson spiders as pets, if so what do they eat. Because I had caught one put it in a container with holes and a cricket it never ate the cricket

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    1. As far as I know you can keep Parson spiders as pets. They will eat insects. If it didn't eat the cricket you provided it may not have been hungry, or the cricket may have been too large, or it may have been stressed from being captured and placed in a container. Try putting it in a critter keeper and creating areas where it can hide. Provide a very shallow dish of water(so it won't drown). Give it small crickets, cockroaches, mealworms, etc. good luck. 🕷

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  15. Well, spider people of the world......About 3 years ago, I had an infestation (the worst the bug guy had seen) of Brown Recluse in my house and garage and it was a mess, because I have a lot of stuff! I had noticed for a few months that there were no bugs or OTHER spiders around. I don't mind spiders....my mother told me that her mother, my grandmother, who would be 141 if she were alive, never killed spiders because they kept the other bugs down. So, I was reared with spider people, although I don't care for them, I don't try to find and kill them. I leave them alone and they normally leave me alone......the deal is, when I got the infestation, I mean I found hundreds after he sprayed and had killed many in the house all over before he sprayed. WHEN YOU DON'T SEE OTHER SPIDERS AND BUGS IN YOUR HOUSE....YOU PROBABLY HAVE RECLUSE PROBLEMS!!! I have had two PARSON SPIDERS, I believe, one in the dishwasher that was HUGH, like an inch or so long (legs and all) and then a smaller one in the living room and that's why I was looking very close at this cridder!! Glad I could ID him because I was afraid I had more Recluse problems....so close inspection revealed this very black shiny double bodied cridder with lighter legs. Couldn't really see the white on his back....it looked like just the light reflection off him when I was checking him out. But I know because he is here and I've seen others, that I have NO RECLUSE!!! Thanks for the good pictures....some sites don't even put pictures and HOW can you tell without a picture to look at??? Thanks again Joyce

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  16. When a parsons spider eats, when does it eat again?

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    1. I'm not sure how often they eat, but I would guess it would depend on the size of the spider it dined on. Bigger meals will sustain it longer.

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  17. When a Parsons spider eats a cricket, when does it feed again?

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    1. If it is feeding on the store bought tan crickets, I would think one or two medium sized crickets would do per week.

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  18. Do these spiders have established territories? That is, does the presence of one of these dissuade others from moving in to the same area? It seems like mobile hunters like these would have to either kill off the competition or have some method of claiming territory but I can't find any info on it online

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  19. I found one of these guys in my bedroom a week or so ago. He startled me as he was very fast and big! I put him back outside into the world and sometimes wonder what he's doing with his life.😂

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  20. What I'd like to know is, how on earth did the author of this post get a spider to lie still on its back--but without harming it--in order to photograph it?! Lol was it a magic trick? As an aside, one would need a microscope in order to examine a spider's genetalia.

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  21. Just tickle its tummy... they fall right to sleep... or a big shoe could help.

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  22. I LOVE spiders, but this little (or big in some cases) bugger is starting to get on my bad side. I find spiders inside alllll the time and just let them eat annoying bugs. This one though, has woken me up from a deep sleep three different times by crawling on me and once I found one while changing bedding. Tonight, I still love them, even though this IS that 3rd wake up and I was bitten. I still caught him and let him go:). They like bedding and warmth, but being in Indiana, there's plenty of warmth right now.... outside❤

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