Metaltella simoni
(Hacklemesh Weaver)

Featured spider picture The spider species Metaltella simoni, commonly known as Hacklemesh Weaver, belongs to the genus Metaltella, in the family Desidae. Metaltella simoni spiders have been sighted 55 times by contributing members. Based on collected data, the geographic range for Metaltella simoni includes 2 countries and 7 states in the United States. Metaltella simoni is most often sighted indoors, and during the month of January.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Araneomorphae
Family: Desidae
Genus: Metaltella
Species: Metaltella simoni

Other Common Names

Hacklemesh Weaver, Cribellate Spider

Author

Eugen von Keyserling, 1878

Primary Colors

Sightings Overview

There have been 55 confirmed sightings of Metaltella simoni (Hacklemesh Weaver), with the most recent sighting submitted on April 20, 2020 by Spider ID member miamacbeth. The detailed statistics below may not utilize the complete dataset of 55 sightings because of certain Metaltella simoni sightings reporting incomplete data.

Web: 5% of the time, Metaltella simoni spiders are sighted in a spider web (Sample size: 55)
Sex: 3 female and 19 male.
Environment: Metaltella simoni has been sighted 15 times outdoors, and 42 times indoors.
Outdoors: Man-made structure (10). High foliage (1). Ground layer (2). Under rock or debris (2).

Location and Range

Metaltella simoni (Hacklemesh Weaver) has been sighted in the following countries: Canada, United States.

Metaltella simoni has also been sighted in the following states: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Texas.

Seasonality

Metaltella simoni has been primarily sighted during the month of January.

January: 15
February: 11
March: 3
April: 6
May: 11
June:
July:
August:
September:
October: 3
November:
December: 6

Additional Remarks

This species has previously been placed in the family Amaurobiidae and, before that, in the family Dictynidae. It was transferred to Amphinectidae by Valerie Davis in 1998.
Based on general appearance, can be mistaken for spiders in the family Amaurobiidae. If you have a microscope: Metaltella simoni is the only known cribellate species in North America with 5 or more teeth on both the pro- and retromargin of the chelicerae (Leech 1971, Leech 1972, Cutler 2005).
In the state of California, this species was one of the five most common spiders to be misidentified by the general public as a “brown recluse” and submitted to Rick Vetter at U.C. Riverside (Vetter 2005).
The anterior (front) portion of the carapace, near the eyes, is usually darker than the rest of the carapace.
Often has some pale chevron-like markings running the length of the abdomen, but these markings may be indistinct or lacking, especially in older specimens.
Egg sacs are globular and usually suspended within the web and covered with sand, dirt, or other debris the female finds nearby.