![]() ![]() The detailed statistics below may not utilize the complete dataset of 25 sightings because of certain Eratigena agrestis sightings reporting incomplete data. Hobo spider size professional#If you have the actual spider that bit someone, always save it for identification by a professional arachnologist.There have been 25 confirmed sightings of Eratigena agrestis (Hobo Spider), with the most recent sighting submitted on Augby Spider ID member jessicamh88. ![]() If you have what appears to be a serious spider bite, please contact your health care provider or local emergency services. Genuine spider bites can sometimes require medical attention, but beyond that, several medical conditions commonly mistaken for spider bite can be even more serious. You should consult a physician as to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or treatment. Information on this web site is not a substitute for professional medical advice, and should not be used to diagnose or treat a medical or health condition. federal Centers for Disease Control recently removed this species from their "Venomous Spiders" list. Biochemical work on the venom and microbiology work on the mouthparts support the idea that hobo spiders are probably harmless. Some such cases can be explained as "dry bites," but it seems increasingly likely that these "hobo spider bite" cases, or most of them, are not actually being caused by a spider. On the other hand, several humans and dogs developed no significant symptoms when bitten by hobo spiders that were recovered and identified. Within the range of the brown recluse, genuine necrotic-bite patients recover the spider about 20% of the time, so "hobo spider victims" should have managed it at least once. However, over the past quarter century, not one patient has come forward who (1) was initially healthy, (2) developed the "typical hobo spider bite symptoms," and (3) was able to produce any spider that had bitten him/her. His data led everyone to assume that hobo spiders caused many apparent human "spider bite" cases. Update: It's been 28 years since my late friend Darwin Vest found severe effects on laboratory rabbits bitten by male hobo spiders. All male spiders have enlarged palps, from the tiny Dictyna to the largest tarantulas, without all being hobo spiders! Between 1,000-2,000 known spider species make funnel webs, without all being hobo spiders! Some hobo spiders have a strong chevron pattern, some a weak one, and some have none at all. Please note that if you live outside its range (pink area on map), you don't have hobo spiders! Figures below: Whole body photos on web sites (including the old Hobo Spider Web Site) are only for illustration and have no identification value around 200 other species in the same region appear similar. The fine structure of the palps is indeed one of the keys to identification, but to see how a hobo spider's palp differs from other male palps you need a microscope with at least 30x magnification.Īs with most spiders, a naked-eye view is simply not enough to identify a hobo spider. But that doesn't mean you can recognize the species that way everymale spider on earth has enlarged palps! Those are the male sex organs, and naturally, males all have them. What's more, it's not always present in hobo spiders - like other species, they are variable in color!Īgain, hobo spiders do make a funnel web, but that is a characteristic of the entire spider family Agelenidae, with numerous species even some non-agelenids make funnel-like webs so the funnel does not mean hobo spider.Īnd again, it's true that male hobo spiders have enlarged pedipalps. That is one of the commonest pattern types among spiders, and literally thousands of species have it. True, this species often has a pattern of chevrons on the abdomen, but they are worthless in identification. Real distribution in 2003 real bites do not occur outside pink area! Small dots are isolated populations. Hobo spider, Tegenaria (or Eratigena) agrestis. People will insist on finding a way (no matter how bogus) to "recognize" a spider by so-called markings. Myth: You can recognize the Hobo Spider by a chevron pattern on the abdomen, "boxing glove" shaped palps in front of the body, and funnel-shaped web.įact: This common idea is a misinterpretation of basically correct information found on the Internet about the hobo spider, a (possibly) medically important species of northwestern USA (see map, below) and Europe (and nowhere else). ![]()
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