Spiders in the Agelenidae family

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Agelenidae family.

The general body shape of spiders in this family (minus the legs) is shown in the drawing on the left.

They have closely-woven webs with a silken tunnel or funnel attached where the spider rests and the female keeps her egg sac.

Spiders in the Tegenaria genus can have a leg-span of over 10 cm, and it is the males which have the really long legs. The Tegenaria sp. are the big hairy spiders we commonly find wandering round out houses in autumn. Although we usually find males (right) as the females tend to stay on their webs. The males look very similar to the females except they are a few mm smaller in the body, have a thinner abdomen, longer legs and usually have swollen palps (see the photographs right and below) as they are in search of a mate.

Below left you can just make out the sclerotised entrance to the female's epigyne, this is the opening into which the male must place one of his sperm-charged palps.

After a successful mating the males will usually live beside the females for a while, but die before winter, this provides the female with a substantial meal to see her through cold weather. Tegenaria can live for several years especially if they are in a sheltered location such as a house or closed metal shed. The webs can be pretty untidy, and often have a tubular retreat. On the left the female is on her web, note the long palps, these are always in contact with the web to detect any vibration indicating the presence of a possible snack. The spiderlings normally disperse without eating their mother.

In 1760 when malaria, also known as ague, was common in Britain a Dr. Watson recommended a Tegenaria sp. "gently bruised and wrapped up in a raisin or spread upon bread and butter" as a cure !

In France Tegenaria sp. are released into wine cellars as the presence of their webs is though to create feeling of age.

Tegenaria parietina

The spider on the left is a mature female Tegenaria sp., as her body was at least 2 cm I would guess that she is Tegenaria parietina. She had made her web inside a metal shed, and when I found her had grown too big to escape from the shed. She seemed quite happy living off a steady diet of insects though.

In 1936 a policeman on point duty on Lambeth Bridge in London held up traffic to allow a particularly large Tegenaria parietina to cross the road.

Tegenaria duellica

The photographs on the right show a mature male Tegenaria duellica. Their body length is 10 - 14 mm long, and is slimmer than the females, although their legs are longer. Males mature in the late summer and autumn, and it is this time that you are most likely to find one wandering around your house. He is just looking for a mate. They are fairly widespread in Britain. They are found indoors, in outbuildings or sheltered walls in the north, but can survive outdoors in the south.

Tegenaria atrica

On the right is a mature Tegenaria atrica female. Fully grown females have a body length of 11 - 16 mm, and males 10 - 14 mm. They are found in a variety of habitats, and are fairly widespread in northern Europe. The web is a sheet with a tubular retreat. Webs in undisturbed locations are usually much larger than those in the open. This one was found when I was emptying my compost bin.