white spider with round balls on its joints looks frozen almost
March 30, 2010
We have these in our bulked.. we rarely open it .. and this is what we found … they are alive and crawling, seems to cower from the light.. If you need more pictures I am sure I can try and brave the spiders and take some more..
Pam
Bourne, Ma
Cellar Spider with Fungus Infection
Dear Pam,
Numerous times in the past we have received similar images, and we have maintained that the creatures in the photos were dead and being consumed by fungus. Readers continue to write to us insisting that the spiders are alive. Your spider is the first that actually does look alive, and we can only surmise that it will soon succumb to this fungus infection. We are linking to a similar photo on BugGuide of a Cellar Spider in the family Pholcidae that was infected with fungus. Your spider is also a Cellar Spider. It may be Pholcus phalangioides, the Longbodied Cellar Spider, a common household species. These Cellar Spiders appear to be especially prone to fungus infections, as do many flies. Since it is the final day of the month, we need to select a Bug of the Month for April to sit at the top of our homepage for thirty days. Your letter and photo get that honor for April.
I like ThisRelated posts:
Fungus-Ridden Spiders in Cellar
Fungus Riddled Spider
Unknown Unusual Spider or Fungus Infection
Long Bodied Cellar Spider
We have been reposting an entry if a change is made to it. I think we are going to stop doing that though. BTW, hey – we miss you!
eeewwwww!
i have OOODLES of these white spiders in my basement – very eerie looking – but all dead – never seen a live one yet. they appear over the summer and by the time i go down to start the boiler in the fall, that’s what they look like.
ive found two of them are the dangerous
wow ive got a ton of these things in my basement and have been wondering what the freak was going on
Though we maintain that these fungus riddled Cellar Spiders are dead, we continue to receive reports from people who insist they are still alive.
I believe they are still alive, we seen traces of them and there all dried out. They are all over my basement and I want them gone!!!!