I came across him in my San Diego apartment, just hanging out on my wall. He looks pretty tough though, do you think it is dangerous? I'm really curious to know what kind of spider it is, and I'm really hoping I wont find anymore in my home!!!
Thanks for your help!
About how big was the body of this spider (not counting leg length?) Was it fuzzy or slick?
It appears to have a brown patch on the front segment. Is that accurate?
A top view would be helpful if you still have it hanging around.
It doesn't appear to be any of the varieties that are poisonous, but that does not mean that it can't bite.
I want to say it was a good inch and a half.
He looked like a big meaty guy. Oohh, how terrified I am of spiders..
This was the closest I wanted to get to it, so apologies for the not so great quality of my photo.
The patch on front segment looked grey to me. Very fuzzy/furry all over, especially on that grey patch. When I zoom in on the photo it still looks grey also.
It is possibly a variety of Wolf Spider but I'm not good with spider I.d.'s Our best bug guy is out of town for a few days, but will be returning later this week. He's really good with the eight leggers.
Here are some of our Wolf Spider images: http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/adv_search.php?searcher[common]=wolf+spider&searcher[bugorder]=&searcher[family]=&searcher[genus]=&searcher[species]=&Search=Search
There are several varieties, and some are found in the western U.S. They are solitary hunters and do not spin a capture web. This means that they can wander indoors in search of prey. (this is a solitary hunting spider of some sort, although it may not be a wolf spider) Wolf spiders and their kin are not poisonous, but can give a painful bite if mishandled. (similar to a bee sting)
If you have the nerve to shoo it outside, it will simply wander along and continue to hunt for small insects for its meal.
I think it's more likely that this is a spider in the family Gnaphosidae (ground spiders), these are fairly common in Southern California homes. Just up the coast at the University of California Irvine, Prof. Peter Bryant has a fairly extensive catalog of Southern California arthropods (in addition to other biology in the area). Browse through his website and maybe you'll find your critter, http://tinyurl.com/35rgndl .
Something was telling me that this might not be a wolf spider...
I agree with Melody in that a clear view of the dorsal aspect of this spider, particularly if the eyes can be seen, would be very helpful; as well as an estimate of its size. Otherwise, I would hesitate even to hazard a guess - I wouldn't be too confident of it being a ground spider without having a better look at it.
This message was edited Jun 29, 2010 6:03 PM
Well, thank you for your help everyone. I do wish I would've taken a better photo instead of getting so nervous! but next time..I'm sure I'll come across more spiders in the future!
And thanks for the link, drrex.
I think I may have found a similar spider on that site: the Gnaphosid spider-Zelotes funestus
I am not sure if this is the same one, but looks the most similar compared to the other types of arachnids on there.
It is next to the ground spider mentioned, but I highly doubt it is that one since the one in my apt was so hairy.
This message was edited Jun 30, 2010 10:23 AM
I dreamed about spiders last night...(you don't want to know....)
If it really was an inch and a half long, it would be very unlikely to be a ground spider of any kind. One problem with trying to identify spiders simply by looking at images on the web (no pun intended) is that there are so many different species that can have a similar overall appearance.
