Family: Theridiidae, Comb-footed Spiders view all from this family

Description Male 1/8-1/4" (4-5 mm), female 1/4" (5-6 mm). Yellowish brown. Abdomen streaked and splotched with black and gray on sides. Male's legs orangish; female's yellow with black bands.

Food Insects.

Web Irregular, made of sticky strands. Webs catch dust as well as prey and are known as cobwebs.

Life Cycle Female spins pear-shaped brownish silken cocoon around egg mass and hangs it in web. Adult females can live more than a year.

Habitat Sheltered corners of houses, barns, and other buildings.

Range Throughout the United States and Canada.

Discussion This spider emerges in darkness to produce webs beneath ceilings or in window frames, taking advantage of every angle to set sticky strands where insects may get caught. Then the spider lies in wait on the part of the web that has an extra layer of silk. If large prey, such as a camel cricket, gets ensnarled, the spider throws more silk on it and then pulls it up into the web. This spider was formerly assigned to genus Theridion.