Southern House Spider, Barn Funnel Weaver
Kukulcania hibernalis
Filistatidae (Crevice Weavers), Order Araneae. Key family characteristics include cribellate silk production, a distinctive circular arrangement of eyes on an elevated mound, and a preference for building retreats in crevices.
Physical Description
The spider has a flattened, oval-shaped body with a distinctively raised cephalic area where the eyes are clustered. There is noticeable sexual dimorphism: adult females are larger, robust, and velvety charcoal-grey or dark brown, while males are much smaller, slender, lighter brown with longer legs, and often possess modified palps that resemble extra limbs.
Size Estimate
Body length ranges from 9 to 19 mm for females, with males around 7 to 10 mm. The total leg span can reach up to 40 to 50 mm, especially in males. The specimen shown appears to be a medium-sized individual, likely an adult male or a subadult female.
Coloration & Markings
Females are uniformly dark charcoal-grey, dark brown, or nearly black with a velvety texture due to dense fine hairs. Males are lighter yellowish-brown to reddish-brown, sometimes featuring faint darker markings on the carapace and a more uniform abdomen.
Web Type
They construct irregular, messy, funnel-like cribellate webs radiating outward from a central retreat located in a deep crevice, hole, or corner. The silk has a woolly, bluish-grey texture because of the cribellum.
Eye Arrangement
Eyes are clustered closely together on a prominent, raised, circular tubercle or mound at the front of the carapace, a defining feature of the family Filistatidae.
Leg Characteristics
Legs are moderately long, slender, and covered in fine setae. They lack strong spines but feature dense scopulae. When resting in the web, they often hold their legs extended forward and backward in a flattened posture.
Venom & Safety Information
Venom Information
Venom is non-lethal and primarily adapted for subduing invertebrate prey. It is not considered medically significant to humans.
Medical Significance
Harmless to humans. Bites are extremely rare, usually only occurring if the spider is forcefully squeezed or trapped against the skin. Symptoms are typically mild and localized, akin to a minor bee sting.
Safety Recommendations
No special precautions needed beyond normal caution. If relocation is desired, gently guide the spider into a container using a piece of cardstock and release it outdoors.
Habitat & Behavior
Habitat & Range
Common throughout the southeastern United States, including Mobile, Alabama, extending into parts of Central and South America. They are synanthropic, frequently found living in human habitations, around windows, under eaves, behind shutters, and in dark crevices indoors.
Behavior & Temperament
They are nocturnal, cryptic ambush hunters that spend most of their time hidden inside their tubular retreat. They are very docile, reluctant to bite, and typically rush backward into their hiding spot when disturbed.
Diet & Prey
Primarily feed on various household insects including roaches, crickets, flies, silverfish, and beetles, which become entangled in the radiating silk threads outside their retreat.
Seasonal Activity
Active year-round indoors, with wandering adult males most commonly encountered during warmer months and mating seasons.
Description
The Southern House Spider is a familiar and harmless nocturnal resident of buildings and homes across the American South. Known for their velvety dark appearance and radiating funnel-like webs, males are often mistaken for brown recluses due to their coloration and wandering habits.
Key Features
Distinguished by a velvety dark texture (in females), a prominent raised eye tubercle, a crevice-dwelling habit with woolly radial web threads, and the absence of the characteristic violin marking found on recluses.
Similar Species
Often confused with the Brown Recluse (Loxosceles reclusa). Unlike the recluse, the Southern House Spider has a raised eye mound, lacks a violin pattern, has a velvety texture, and is significantly larger and darker.
Life Cycle
Females construct silken egg sacs within their retreats, guarding them until the spiderlings hatch. Young spiders disperse locally. They have a relatively long lifespan for araneomorph spiders, with females living up to 8 years or more.
Ecological Importance
Acts as an effective natural pest control agent inside and around homes by consuming large numbers of nuisance insects.
Conservation Status
Not evaluated by the IUCN, but highly abundant, secure, and thriving alongside human development.
Interesting Facts
Male Southern House Spiders frequently wander into living areas in search of females during mating season, causing unwarranted alarm among homeowners who mistake them for dangerous species.
Photography Tips
Use macro lighting to highlight the velvety texture and raised eye mound. Photograph from the side to capture body profile and leg posture without disturbing the spider.
User Notes
Found indoors in Mobile Alabama
Identified: 2026-08-20T03:25:43.420948