The spiders do compete over prey items, but skirmishes are rarely protracted. Elizabeth Jakob of the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) has found that up to fifteen individual spiders may share a communal web at any one time, with “membership” changing periodically. This is rarely the case, though, and many specimens will together form nearly contiguous webs that stretch far and wide. The webs of Holocnemus are irregular but decidedly dome-like, at least when one individual spider is off by itself. I find this species to be far more common outdoors than I do indoors here in southern Arizona. distribution of the Marbled Cellar Spider ranges east to at least central Texas, and north to southern Oregon. Because this species closely resembles the common Long-bodied Cellar Spider, Pholcus phalangioides, it is possible that it became established prior to 1974. The earliest known record in North America comes from Sutter County, California in 1974. The Marbled Cellar spider is actually native to the Mediterranean region of Europe. However, this is not true of the Marbled Cellar Spider, Holocnemus pluchei. Indeed, many members of the family Pholcidae do frequent such situations. 'Verified spider bites in Oregon (USA) with the intent to assess hobo spider venom toxicity.' Toxicon 84: 51–55.Cellar spiders are named for their habit of building their webs in cool, dark places such as basements, old mine shafts, wells and the like. 'Localized Pruritic Rash Due to Recurrent Spider Bites.' J. 'The Spider Genus Latrodectus (Araneae, Theridiidae).' Trans. 'Effects of envenoming by comb-footed spiders of the genera Steatoda and Achaearanea (Family Theridiidae: Araneae) in Australia.' J. Spiders of the Eastern United States: A Photographic Guide. 'The spider genus Loxosceles in North America, Central America, and the West Indies (Araneae, Loxoscelidae).' Bul Amer Mus. The American Arachnological Society Committee on Common Names of Arachnids. The Black Widow and Five Other Venomous Spiders in the United States. These spiders are not known to bite people and are not a medically important species. The sac is held by the female in her chelicerae as she hangs inverted in her web.Īn unusual behavior is that the spiders will rapidly vibrate in a circular fashion in the web if threatened, making it difficult to see them. The eggs, which are about 1 millimeter in diameter, are deposited in clusters of twenty-five to sixty and wrapped in a thin layer of silk.

It takes approximately one year for the spiders to mature and they can live for two or more years as adults. Life History/Behaviorīoth male and female spiders can be found in heated structures throughout the year. The webs are an irregular mesh of threads. The forelegs of the adult female are about 50 millimeters in length. The color of the carapace and abdomen is a pale tan or yellow with a gray mark in the center of the carapace. The eyes are arranged in two triads of larger, light-colored eyes on the top of the cephalothorax and a pair of dark, small eyes on the front.

The abdomen is about three times as long as it is wide and cylindrical in shape. The females are from 7 to 8 millimeters and the males 6 millimeters in length. This spider is commonly found in cellars, warehouses, garages, caves, and other dark, quiet, protected spots. Although these spiders can develop large populations in protected locations, they are not known to be in any way harmful. It has extremely long legs and is found in many types of buildings throughout the year.

The longbodied cellar spider is the most common of the Pholcidae in the United States. Pholcidae-Cellar or Daddylong-legs Spiders

Long bodied cellar spider texas