Hobo Spider - Identification

Identification

Spiders, including the hobo spider, vary considerably in appearance, and identification can be difficult. Identification relies on an examination of the spider’s anatomy. Positive identification requires microscopic examination of the epigynum and palps and is best done by an Arachnologist. However, the following characteristics can help in identification of hobo spiders in order to prevent misidentification and eradication of beneficial species with a similar general appearance:

• Hobo spiders lack the colored bands found on many spiders of the Agelenidae family where the leg joints meet.
• The abdomen has chevron (V-shaped) patterns (possibly many of them) down the middle, with the chevrons pointing towards the head.
• Like other funnel spiders, hobo spiders have two spinnerets extending from the bottom of the abdomen.
• Hobo spiders have a light stripe running down the middle of the sternum. If the spider instead has three or four pairs of light spots on the lateral portions of the sternum, then it is one of the other two related Tegenaria species. However absence of spots is not conclusive proof that the spider is a hobo spider, since the spots on other Tegenaria species may be extremely faint and not readily visible.
• Hobo spiders do not have two distinct longitudinal dark stripes on the top side of the cephalothorax, instead showing indistinct or diffused patterns. Washington spiders with distinct dark stripes include spiders from the genuses Agelenopsis and Hololena and possibly some wolf spiders. (These spiders do not have common names.)