Hackled orbweavers (Uloboridae)

Feather-legged lace weaver (Uloborus plumipes)

Web: horizontal (!) orbweb of 15 to 30 cm.

Habitat: The Feather-legged lace weaver is originally a tropical species that was imported in Belgium through the Mediterranean. It is almost exclusively found in heated spaces such as greenhouses. In garden centres you can spot the typical webs, hung between cacti and succulents. This species has only once been found outdoors in Belgium.

How to recognize:

• abdomen densely covered with hairs and two obvious humps
• colour varies from beige to almost black
• front legs with striking hair bristles.

Looks similar to:

The very noticeable abdomen, together with the specific occurrence in heated spaces means that this species is easily recognized. 

Size

♀: 4-5 mm

♂: 3-4 mm

When?

Can be found throughout the year.

Cellar spiders (Pholcidae)

Marbled cellar spider (Holocnemus pluchei)

Web: an open, messy, 3D web, often with a dome like structure.

Habitat: almost always in (non)heated industrial buildings such as warehouses, hangars or garden centres. Often in corners.

How to recognize:

• spider with elongated abdomen and long, thin legs
• abdomen with light brown/grey colour and a clear, white, marbled drawing.

Looks similar to:

• can be confused with the Long-bodied cellar spider. However, the Marbled cellar spider has a clear, black band on the underside of the abdomen. The abdomen als has much more explicit drawing.

Size

♀: 5-7,5 mm

♂: 5-7 mm

When?

♀: throughout the year

♂: throughout the year

Eutichurid spiders (Cheiracanthiidae)

Yellow sac spider/Spiny false wolf spider (Cheiracanthium mildei)

Web: The Yellow sac spider doesn’t construct a web, but catches its prey through active, visual hunting.

Habitat: The Yellow sac spider can be found in a sac-like retreat in a curled up leaf or underneath stones and bark. In Belgium especially close to or in buildings (but recently also in a nature reserve, far removed from buildings.

How to recognize:

• medium size spider with large jaws
• abdomen yellow to olive green, with clear cardiac mark. Cephalothorax often more dark coloured, sometimes red
• yellow legs, with frontpair being the longest.

Looks similar to:

Cheiracanthium virescens: this species lives mainly in heathland and will almost never occur near or in houses. Certain identification only through using a stereomicroscope.

Size:

♀: 6-11 mm

♂: 6-9 mm

When?

♀: May till December

♂: May till December

Barn Funnel weaver (Tegenaria domestica)

Web: Typical funnel web with a funnel-shaped retreat.

Habitat: In and around buildings. Often outdoors, away from buildings, such as in hollowed out trees and caves.

How to recognize:

• typical light drawing on the abdomen and dark coloured drawing on cephalothorax
• often with a faded appearance and an vague drawing
• legs vaguely annulated and proportionally shorter compared to the Giant house and Cardinal spider.

Looks similar to:

• Cannot really be confused with other house spiders when accurately comparing the back drawing. Also a lot smaller.

Size

♀: 7,5-11,5mm

♂: 6-9mm

When?

♀: throughout the year

♂: probably the entire year, but with peak in the second half.

Cardinal spider (Tegenaria parietina)

Web: Typical funnel web with a funnel-shaped retreat, often more “layered” than the web of the Cardinal spider and Barn funnel weaver.

Habitat: In and around buildings, sometimes in drier, less sheltered and sunny locations. Almost always close to buildings.

How to recognize:

• typical light drawing on top of the abdomen (two light oval spots stand out) and a dark coloured drawing on cephalothorax (with three dark spots on the sides)
• legs darkly annulated (less obvious in older spiders and often almost completely lost in adult males.

Looks similar to:

• Charcoal spider (Tegenaria ferruginea). This species has a more delineated drawing (also on the legs), is much smaller and has proportionally shorter legs. The Charcoal spider is more often found in forests and less in houses.

Size

♀: 11-20mm

♂: 10-17mm

When?

♀: throughout the year

♂: August till October

Giant housespider (Eratigena atrica)

Web: Typical funnel web with a funnel-shaped retreat.

Habitat: In and around buildings, with a preference for sheltered, not too dry places. Often outdoors, far away from buildings, i.e. in hollow trees or on rocks.  

How to recognize:

• typical light drawing on the abdomen and dark coloured drawing on cephalothorax
• often a more dark appearance compared to the other two house spider species
• legs never darkly annulated

Looks similar to:

• Blackwalls house spider, from which the Giant house spider cannot be distinguished based on general appearance. Only through examining the reproductive structures is it possible to decisively identify species but this examination is not easy.

Size

♀: 11-18mm

♂: 10-15mm

When?

♀: throughout the year

♂: August till October

Latin name: Araneus quadratus

German name: Vierfleckkreuzspinne

Web: Large orb web

Habitat: Makes a web quite low to the ground (under 50 cm) between grasses and herbs, often in more humid places.

How to recognize:

• typical drawing with four white spots on the back of the abdomen
• different colours: ranging from light yellow - green - orange - red-brown
• large spider, sometimes during the day in web, but usually in retreat on the edge of the web

Looks similar to:

• Can be confused with the Marbled Orbweaver, but the two front light spots of that species are usually larger than the back two. With the Four-spot orbweaver, it is the other way around, with the two fronts spots being almost always larger.

Size:

♀: 9-20 mm

♂: 6-8 mm

When?

♀: July till October

♂: June till September

Latin name: Argiope bruennichi
German name: Wespenspinne

Web: Large orb web, often with threads in zigzag pattern (stabilimentum) originating from the centre going up and down.

Habitat: Often in grassland, with the web constructed low. Main diet are grasshoppers! 

How to recognize:

• white-yellow-black bands on the abdomen (hence the name), males have a more brown colour and are much smaller.
• big spider, often in the web during the day
• threads in zigzag pattern (stabilimentum) in web
• typical lightbrown to brown egg sac, with vertical black stripes.

Looks similar to:

• because of the unique colouration, this species is hard to confuse with other spiders.

Size:

♀: 11-20 mm

♂: 4-4,5 mm

When?

♀: July till September/October

♂: June till August

Latin name: Zygiella x-notata

German name: Sektorspinne

Web: small to medium orb web with catching threads missing in one or two sectors (looks open). A signal thread runs from the centre through this sector to signal the spider when prey is stuck. If you follow this, you will find the spider!

Habitat: almost always associated with buildings: in the corner of window frames, balconies, gates, fences, under the gutter, ... Can occur in high numbers.

How to recognize:

• abdomen with silver-colored leaf figure
• head with rather triangular, dark figure
• darkly annulated legs

Looks similar to:

• Zygiella atrica: this species is usually more orange, but females can only be identified with certainty using a stereo microscope. Males from Zygiella atrica have noticeably longer palps.
• Zygiella montana: this species only occurs in the higher parts of Belgium.

Body size

♀: 7-11 mm

♂: 4-7 mm

When?

♀: throughout the year

♂: throughout the year

Latin name: Nuctenea umbratica

German name: Spaltenkreuzspinne

Web: large orb web (up to 70 cm) with a large mesh size and not finely finished.

Habitat: hidden during the day under the bark of trees, between cracks and crevices in walls, fences, ... At night, you can find the spider in the middle of the web.

How to recognize:

• highly flattened shape
• dark brown to black colour, female with very striking light spots on the underside of the abdomen.
• clear "pits" on the back of the abdomen (muscle attachment points)

Looks similar to:

• a dark Grey Cross spider, but this species usually has a clear light mark on the back of the abdomen. The Grey Cross spider almost always lives in the immediate vicinity of water.

Body size:

♀: 11-15 mm

♂: 8-9 mm

When?

♀: throughout the year

♂: May to September