Need help identifying spider

Bean,

Sorry to hear about the untimely demise ....

Check Google for photos of Kukulcania hibernalis. This rings a bell and
fits the location. They can get fairly large with age though 2.5 X 1.5
seems a bit large.

Kukulcania might seem hairless but are quite fuzzy under a scope. They
have a dense coat of short hairs.

Chuck
Spider Pharm

Bean Fried Pork wrote:

>>Hi, I found (and killed) a very strange looking spider in the basement of
>
 >> Stay informed about: Need help identifying spider 

why kill it?

"Bean Fried Pork" <nospam DeleteThis @ilikecheese.net> wrote in message
news:zdIJc.99598$OB3.62466@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Hi, I found (and killed) a very strange looking spider in the basement of
my
> parent's house yesterday, and I was wondering if you all could help
identify
> it. It was about 2-2.5 inches long and about 1.5 inches wide, and had a
> large abdomen and body, and was all black except that it seemed to have a
> definite reddish tinge to it. It also seemed to have thick limbs for its
> size. While it is not uncommon to see spiders around here, I have never
> seen a spider this large before (as in mass, not diameter) in this city
> before, and any help would be useful. I (and my parents) live in
Washington
> D.C. if that helps any.
>
> -Beans
>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Need help identifying spider 

"chuck" <chuck RemoveThis @nospam.com> wrote in message
news:X0MJc.12153$kK.9577@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> Bean,
>
> Sorry to hear about the untimely demise ....
>
> Check Google for photos of Kukulcania hibernalis. This rings a bell and
> fits the location. They can get fairly large with age though 2.5 X 1.5
> seems a bit large.
>
> Kukulcania might seem hairless but are quite fuzzy under a scope. They
> have a dense coat of short hairs.
>
> Chuck
> Spider Pharm
>
> Bean Fried Pork wrote:
>
> >>Hi, I found (and killed) a very strange looking spider in the basement
of
> >
Thank you for your assistance. This appears to look quite a bit like the
spider I encountered.

-Beans
 >> Stay informed about: Need help identifying spider 

"JULIAN HALES" <julianhales.TakeThisOut@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:P3NJc.23939$q8.14581@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
> why kill it?
>
Honestly? Well, for one, I am not a spider enthusiast like the people on
this board, and while I dont generally kill every spider I see, this one
looked very large and unusual and I did not want one of my two cats to eat
it or get bitten by it (one of them, who I was holding at the time, is very
old and moves very slowly). I weighed the pros and cons for a few second
before deciding to crush it with my tool box, and it died a very quick and
relatively painless death. I really had no idea whether it was poisonous or
not.

-Beans

> "Bean Fried Pork" <nospam.TakeThisOut@ilikecheese.net> wrote in message
> news:zdIJc.99598$OB3.62466@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> > Hi, I found (and killed) a very strange looking spider in the basement
of
> my
> > parent's house yesterday, and I was wondering if you all could help
> identify
> > it. It was about 2-2.5 inches long and about 1.5 inches wide, and had a
> > large abdomen and body, and was all black except that it seemed to have
a
> > definite reddish tinge to it. It also seemed to have thick limbs for
its
> > size. While it is not uncommon to see spiders around here, I have never
> > seen a spider this large before (as in mass, not diameter) in this city
> > before, and any help would be useful. I (and my parents) live in
> Washington
> > D.C. if that helps any.
> >
> > -Beans
> >
> >
> >
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Need help identifying spider 

Bean Fried Pork wrote:
> "JULIAN HALES" <julianhales DeleteThis @blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:P3NJc.23939$q8.14581@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>> why kill it?
>>
> Honestly? Well, for one, I am not a spider enthusiast like the
> people on this board, and while I dont generally kill every spider I
> see, this one looked very large and unusual and I did not want one of
> my two cats to eat it or get bitten by it (one of them, who I was
> holding at the time, is very old and moves very slowly). I weighed
> the pros and cons for a few second before deciding to crush it with
> my tool box, and it died a very quick and relatively painless death.
> I really had no idea whether it was poisonous or not.
>
> -Beans
>

I don't think the spider would have eaten your cats. It probably would have
left on its own. Most spiders aren't agressive if you leave them alone. a
quick painless death, is still death. How painless can it be to have a
toolbox crush you.
 >> Stay informed about: Need help identifying spider 

"Bean Fried Pork" <nospam.DeleteThis@ilikecheese.net> wrote in message
news:EtNJc.263244$Gx4.40540@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>
> "JULIAN HALES" <julianhales.DeleteThis@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:P3NJc.23939$q8.14581@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
> > why kill it?
> >
> Honestly? Well, for one, I am not a spider enthusiast like the people on
> this board, and while I dont generally kill every spider I see, this one
> looked very large and unusual and I did not want one of my two cats to eat
> it or get bitten by it (one of them, who I was holding at the time, is
very
> old and moves very slowly). I weighed the pros and cons for a few second
> before deciding to crush it with my tool box, and it died a very quick and
> relatively painless death. I really had no idea whether it was poisonous
or
> not.
>
> -Beans
>

Spiders do a lot more good than hard, a jar and a piece of card would have
been ok im sure
 >> Stay informed about: Need help identifying spider 

JULIAN HALES wrote:
>
> "Bean Fried Pork" <nospam.RemoveThis@ilikecheese.net> wrote in message
> news:EtNJc.263244$Gx4.40540@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> >
> > "JULIAN HALES" <julianhales.RemoveThis@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> > news:P3NJc.23939$q8.14581@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
> > > why kill it?
> > >
> > Honestly? Well, for one, I am not a spider enthusiast like the people on
> > this board, and while I dont generally kill every spider I see, this one
> > looked very large and unusual and I did not want one of my two cats to eat
> > it or get bitten by it (one of them, who I was holding at the time, is
> very
> > old and moves very slowly). I weighed the pros and cons for a few second
> > before deciding to crush it with my tool box, and it died a very quick and
> > relatively painless death. I really had no idea whether it was poisonous
> or
> > not.
> >
> > -Beans
> >
>
> Spiders do a lot more good than hard, a jar and a piece of card would have
> been ok im sure


To balance out the fear-killing, I just wanted to report
that I rescued a large greyish spider, looking much like
a wolf spider but instead of the stripes on her abdomen
it was more of a checkered grey color. She was crawling
across the floor of my cubicle, her legspan would appear
to have been one to one and a quarter inches, and she was
fast. I managed to catch her and put her in a cup, then
dropped in a few drops of water which she drank. I kept
her through lunch (this was yesterday) and that evening
took her to my shop which has large trees out back. I
released her into a tree that had the same grey texture
as she did and within seconds she was off and running.
Hopefully she does well.

JazzMan
--
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Curse those darned bulk e-mailers!
**********************************************************
"Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of
supply and demand. It is the privilege of human beings to
live under the laws of justice and mercy." - Wendell Berry
**********************************************************
 >> Stay informed about: Need help identifying spider 

Jazzman,

Maybe we should change the subject to "Can't win for losing" since
actions that may appear to be more humane may, in reality, be far more
cruel.

The checkered grey suggests Tegenaria domestica, which may not "belong"
outdoors in your area. In any case, it is being thrust into competition
with other spiders, ants and etc and probably has a very low chance of
survival and death will probably not be as quick and painless as a solid
blow from a tool box. It may also have been geriatric and/or too weak to
survive outdoors.

The tool box may have better, hard to say ...
I hope you're not losing any sleep over this.

Best,
Chuck
Spider Pharm

JazzMan wrote:
> JULIAN HALES wrote:
>
>>"Bean Fried Pork" <nospam RemoveThis @ilikecheese.net> wrote in message
>>news:EtNJc.263244$Gx4.40540@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>
>>>"JULIAN HALES" <julianhales RemoveThis @blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
>>>news:P3NJc.23939$q8.14581@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>>>
>>>>why kill it?
>>>>
>>>
>>>Honestly? Well, for one, I am not a spider enthusiast like the people on
>>>this board, and while I dont generally kill every spider I see, this one
>>>looked very large and unusual and I did not want one of my two cats to eat
>>>it or get bitten by it (one of them, who I was holding at the time, is
>>
>>very
>>
>>>old and moves very slowly). I weighed the pros and cons for a few second
>>>before deciding to crush it with my tool box, and it died a very quick and
>>>relatively painless death. I really had no idea whether it was poisonous
>>
>>or
>>
>>>not.
>>>
>>> -Beans
>>>
>>
>>Spiders do a lot more good than hard, a jar and a piece of card would have
>>been ok im sure
>
>
>
> To balance out the fear-killing, I just wanted to report
> that I rescued a large greyish spider, looking much like
> a wolf spider but instead of the stripes on her abdomen
> it was more of a checkered grey color. She was crawling
> across the floor of my cubicle, her legspan would appear
> to have been one to one and a quarter inches, and she was
> fast. I managed to catch her and put her in a cup, then
> dropped in a few drops of water which she drank. I kept
> her through lunch (this was yesterday) and that evening
> took her to my shop which has large trees out back. I
> released her into a tree that had the same grey texture
> as she did and within seconds she was off and running.
> Hopefully she does well.
>
> JazzMan
 >> Stay informed about: Need help identifying spider 

Ok, I checked out pics of the species you mentioned and this spider
was definitely not one of those. I did some roaming around the net
and found several pics of wolf spiders that were close. She was
medium grey with lots of hair, her legs were not translucent as were
the ones on the spider you mentioned. She had the eye arrangement
(two prominant forward-facing) that is predominant with wolf spiders,
and in every other respect except for her abdominal marking pattern
she is a wolf spider. At where I work there is nothing but concrete
and industrial shop, though there are some grassy areas about 100
feet away. Where I put her there are lots of other insects, almost
all of which are smaller than her 1+ inch leg span, so she should
have lots to eat until something eats her. Such is the way of life,
but her chances are much better than they were in the sterile, dead
environment that is my office.

JazzMan

chuck wrote:
>
> Jazzman,
>
> Maybe we should change the subject to "Can't win for losing" since
> actions that may appear to be more humane may, in reality, be far more
> cruel.
>
> The checkered grey suggests Tegenaria domestica, which may not "belong"
> outdoors in your area. In any case, it is being thrust into competition
> with other spiders, ants and etc and probably has a very low chance of
> survival and death will probably not be as quick and painless as a solid
> blow from a tool box. It may also have been geriatric and/or too weak to
> survive outdoors.
>
> The tool box may have better, hard to say ...
> I hope you're not losing any sleep over this.
>
> Best,
> Chuck
> Spider Pharm
>
> JazzMan wrote:
> > JULIAN HALES wrote:
> >
> >>"Bean Fried Pork" <nospam.RemoveThis@ilikecheese.net> wrote in message
> >>news:EtNJc.263244$Gx4.40540@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> >>
> >>>"JULIAN HALES" <julianhales.RemoveThis@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> >>>news:P3NJc.23939$q8.14581@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
> >>>
> >>>>why kill it?
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>Honestly? Well, for one, I am not a spider enthusiast like the people on
> >>>this board, and while I dont generally kill every spider I see, this one
> >>>looked very large and unusual and I did not want one of my two cats to eat
> >>>it or get bitten by it (one of them, who I was holding at the time, is
> >>
> >>very
> >>
> >>>old and moves very slowly). I weighed the pros and cons for a few second
> >>>before deciding to crush it with my tool box, and it died a very quick and
> >>>relatively painless death. I really had no idea whether it was poisonous
> >>
> >>or
> >>
> >>>not.
> >>>
> >>> -Beans
> >>>
> >>
> >>Spiders do a lot more good than hard, a jar and a piece of card would have
> >>been ok im sure
> >
> >
> >
> > To balance out the fear-killing, I just wanted to report
> > that I rescued a large greyish spider, looking much like
> > a wolf spider but instead of the stripes on her abdomen
> > it was more of a checkered grey color. She was crawling
> > across the floor of my cubicle, her legspan would appear
> > to have been one to one and a quarter inches, and she was
> > fast. I managed to catch her and put her in a cup, then
> > dropped in a few drops of water which she drank. I kept
> > her through lunch (this was yesterday) and that evening
> > took her to my shop which has large trees out back. I
> > released her into a tree that had the same grey texture
> > as she did and within seconds she was off and running.
> > Hopefully she does well.
> >

--
**********************************************************
Please reply to jsavage"at"airmail.net.
Curse those darned bulk e-mailers!
**********************************************************
"Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of
supply and demand. It is the privilege of human beings to
live under the laws of justice and mercy." - Wendell Berry
**********************************************************
 >> Stay informed about: Need help identifying spider