Subject: I noticed you didn’t have any Oecobius sp. (wall spider) pictures
Location: Houston area, but they are pretty widespread
September 16, 2013 8:16 pm
These are pretty small spiders, so there is a chance nobody has noticed them to be identified.
Here are the pictures (I had to resize them, they were too big)
#1 is probably a female
#2 is a male
Signature: The giant cookie
Dear The giant cookie,
Thank you so much for bringing this gap in our coverage to our attention. We have created a Wall Spiders subcategory just to house your posting. According to BugGuide, they are found near: “houses, stucco walls, under bark on trees and grape vines, rocks.” Perhaps only negligent housekeepers who rarely dust, like our editorial staff, are the only folks who would notice Wall Spiders in the home. We have been aware of them for years because it seems they are among the only creatures in Los Angeles that feed upon the invasive Argentine Ants, though the ant population far exceeds the spider population. Wall Spiders often create lairs in crevices around windows, and in seldom disturbed corners of rooms. We are thrilled with your excellent photos of this often overlooked Wall Spider.
We have been keeping an eye on a resident wall spider “Tiny” much like the one depicted here. She has two boyfriends (I presume) who live on the same molding. She is about 2 mm and they are less than 1. We do not see them catching anything. There are no ants in the house. We conclude they must live off of some creature too small to see. What could that be? Dust mites?
We know that they feed on Argentine Ants, but there is no way they are capable of even putting a dent in the population of that invasive pest species.
I have these on my house walls too; so glad I finally found this website identifying what spiders they are. I believe they also prey on booklice and fleas, which are rampant on the walls that are slightly mouldy (especially the corridor where the light is often off which might explain the mouldiness). I have personally observed, more than once, a wall spider throwing silk across a booklice that got near its nest and taking it back to feed on.
Very cool. I have seen booklice on window sills here.