Southern House Spider

Southern House Spider, Kukulcania hibernalis

Size: Body length (excluding legs) of adult female ranges from 13-25 mm; adult males range from 9-12 mm.
Eyes: Total of eight eyes, clustered very close together on a central mound on the front of the carapace. For this reason, these spiders are sometimes confused for one of the more primitive spiders in the infraorder Mygalomorphae. The adult male Kukulcania hibernalis is the spider most often mistaken for a “brown recluse” (Loxosceles reclusa), but the eye arrangements between the two are vastly different and should be used to separate these two spiders from one another.

Legs: In females, legs dark brown or black and velvety-looking; proportionate to body size. In adult males, legs light brown and exceptionally long. Males are often confused with “brown recluses” but, on close inspection, you will see that the Kukulcania male has thick black spines on its legs, whereas the brown recluse has shorter hairs that are more wispy and not as noticeable. Kukulcania hibernalis tarsi (tips of legs) have 3 claws.

Body: This species is sexually dimorphic in color and shape. Females are velvety black, gray, or occasionally dark brown. Males are light brown and mostly glossy. Females are robust spiders; males are much more slender, with a proportionately smaller abdomen.

Habitat
This species is often associated with human habitations, spreading its web from cracks and crevices on the exterior of homes, barns, and other structures. In “nature,” look for them under stones, loose bark on trees and logs, and in yucca plants.

Web
The web is net-like in appearance, and sprawls from a crack or crevice where the spider hides. The spider may venture to the entrance of its web at night waiting for potential prey to blunder into the snare. The silk is not sticky but “fluffy” and tangled, produced from a special organ called the cribellum, located just in front of the spinnerets. The spider uses a brush on its fourth leg to comb out the silk, giving it the properties necessary to entangle prey.