Name this spider, please!

February 1, 2011 8:46 PM

What is this spider? (1,2,3,4)

This fellow was hiding out inside my dishwashing gloves, much to my surprise when I went to clean up after dinner.

posted by pemberkins to pets & animals (14 answers total)

Looks like a good old-fashioned wolf spider to me.
posted by norm at 8:52 PM on February 1, 2011

American House Spider
posted by KokuRyu at 8:53 PM on February 1, 2011 [2 favorites]

Looks pretty damn close to being a Hobo Spider.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:00 PM on February 1, 2011

This Hobo Spider is from the funnelweb section of Whatsthatbug
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:02 PM on February 1, 2011

A hobo spider would be unlikely in New York (assuming that your profile is up to date). How big is your critter?
posted by norm at 9:11 PM on February 1, 2011

Sorry, I should have included a coin for scale. The critter is between 1/2" and 3/4" long. (And yes, I'm still in New York.)
posted by pemberkins at 9:14 PM on February 1, 2011

Here are some more wolf spider pics from that same site I linked before. There are lots of these things around, in large quantities and several sizes. A giveaway is that they have three rows of eyes; I can't quite make that out in any of your pictures but suspect it's true.

We're about due for our Australian Arachnologists to get off work in a few hours.
posted by norm at 9:24 PM on February 1, 2011 [2 favorites]

It looks more like a Barn Funnel Weaver. These happen to be in the same genus as a Hobo Spider, a very close relative, and are often mistaken for them. I would go with a wolf spider, but the legs are striped, and I don't see many Lycosids like that, besides the thinlegged variety, and that one isn't hairy/spiney enough to be one in my eyes. Striped legs are characteristic of a Barn Funnel Weaver.

You can look through a few pictures of them here. Or take a peek at my own here, here or here.
posted by sanka at 6:06 AM on February 2, 2011

If it makes you feel any better, it's 100% definitely NOT a recluse. I have a lot of experience identifying those things.
posted by crapmatic at 8:29 AM on February 2, 2011

It's definitely not a house spider. It looks like it's a wanderer species and they don't make webs to capture prey.
posted by hellboundforcheddar at 9:53 AM on February 2, 2011

Yeah, agreed on the not a brown recluse (from another recluse vet).

Sometimes the eye pattern can help identify your spider. What are the eyes like?
posted by Addlepated at 10:27 AM on February 2, 2011

Here is another picture that might help with the eyes. Sorry about the quality, but it's the best my camera can do.
posted by pemberkins at 4:47 PM on February 2, 2011

I'm even more confident in my guess now. The eye pattern is identical to my photos above.
posted by sanka at 7:20 PM on February 2, 2011

Thanks everyone!
posted by pemberkins at 5:06 AM on February 4, 2011