Kukulcania hibernalis (Southern House Spider)

Summary

The "Southern House Spider," Kukulcania hibernalis, is abundant in the southeast U.S., ranging west to southern California. Males, which wander in search of females and occasionally stray indoors, are frequently mistaken for recluse spiders (genus Loxosceles). This species is often associated with human habitations, spreading its web from cracks and crevices on the exterior of homes, barns, and other structures. In “nature,” look for them under stones, loose, and in yucca plants. The web is net-like in appearance, and sprawls from a crack or crevice where the spider hides. The spider may venture to the entrance of its web at night waiting for potential prey. The silk is not sticky but “fluffy” and tangled, produced from an organ called the cribellum, located in front of the spinnerets. A brush on the spider’s fourth leg combs out the silk. Females of this species are known to live up to eight years. They molt (shed their “skin”) even in adulthood, a trait shared only with tarantula spiders.