Yesterday we had our outdoor air conditioner unit tuned up. Big deal, you may think. Yes, I agree. Until Ben, the nice tech with Apache Air and Heat, disturbed a BIG spider. He was real cool about it. When I heard James say, "I think it's a wolf spider. But my spider expert will know for sure." Naturally, I hurried over. OH OH OH! This was definitely NOT a wolf spider. And it was definitely a spider I had NOT seen before in our yard. AWESOME!
Meet a southern house spider (Kukulcania hibernalis). Isn't he handsome? And large, too! But he's completely harmless. Plus he can barely see anything (see his tiny eyes?). According to Bugguide.net, "females are frequently mistaken for small tarantulas or trapdoor spiders. Males are often mistaken for recluse spiders. This is a totally harmless species that builds 'messy' webs emanating from crevices, often on the outside of homes."
After a photo session, I let my new friend go at the base of a live oak in our back yard. Happy life to you!
I thought it was interesting to learn that the two sexes are very different. Ours was a male. Here's a photo of a female so you can see the differences. (Photo by @greg369 on iNaturalist)
Big news – Thanks to this spider, I've hit 100 spider species on my iNaturalist list in our yard!
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