Oct 31, 2009

In The Mop Bucket

Terri encountered this spider in her mop bucket. Now, it takes little provocation for me to walk away from a mopping job. But this? I could legitimately get away with not mopping the kitchen floor for a month, since my wife is understanding when it comes to my arachnophobia. It might almost be worth the encounter...

Anyone know what kind of spider this is? The mop bucket in question is in Phoenix, AZ, USA. Is it a huntsman?

Thanks for the photo, Terri. That penny was awful brave for getting so close to the spider.

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10 comments:

  1. CarrieNovember 09, 2009

    I will, without fail always vote gross on spider pictures - RW - EWW

    Stupid penny

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  2. ClaymoreNovember 09, 2009

    Looks like a rain spider to me (at least, that's what we call those ones in South Africa). Has it only got 7 legs?

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  3. AnonymousNovember 09, 2009

    I would say it's definitely a huntsman from the forward swept legs like a crab spider to the flat, wide body. Not to mention the considerable size which is actually pretty small for a huntsman.

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  4. AnonymousNovember 09, 2009

    And yes, it looks like this one lost a leg which isn't toom uncommon for a hunter-killer spider. It'll get the leg back next molt, though.

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  5. TerriFNovember 09, 2009

    The 8th leg is very hard to see, it's hidden behind the middle leg on the left side of the photo. Several people have told me this is a wolf-spider, is that the same thing as a huntsman? I don't know. Anyway, thanks so much for posting my photo!
    -Terri

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  6. AnonymousNovember 09, 2009

    It's definitely not a wolf spider. Wolf spiders are grey, hairy and large (like my grandfather), but they look different from this. They tend to have narrow "heads" (cephalothorax actually) and two eyes that are large, prominent and often set high.

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  7. SarahNovember 09, 2009

    So it is a huntsman and rain spider -- looks like anyway. Here's a wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider
    -Sarah

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  8. otoemlakNovember 11, 2009

    Looks like a rain spider to me (at least, that's what we call

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  9. UnknownNovember 11, 2009

    I don't care what you call it. I call it yucky!!!

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  10. AnonymousNovember 19, 2009

    Hmm not sure. Possibly a Brown Recluse? But don't get bitten by those. Search "Brown Recluse bite" and you'll see what I mean.

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