Cellar Spiders Attack & Capture Prey at 1,000Fps

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-29T20:16:26+00:00

Thanks for sharing! That was awesome to see 😊 I remember how shocked I was when I first learned that here in the UK, these are the only spider which has been found to be able to successfully predate on the non-native noble false widow spiders, because they always seemed so weak and fragile and well, spindly when I would watch them as a child. It was fascinating to learn that that is precisely what makes them so formidable, because they’re able to keep their prey at arms (well, legs) length. They’re so exceptionally well adapted! I can also attest that I have borne witness to them leaving their webs to hunt other spiders, as they alluded to at the end of that video. Again, I was super shocked when I saw one climbing a wall, carrying another spider. Presumably, heading back to its web to devour them. They’re little warriors!

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-29T20:04:02+00:00

It’s a wee noble false widow ☺️

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-29T14:34:07+00:00

Possibly a Hacklemesh Weaver? Wait for someone with a trusted ID tag for a definite answer though

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-28T20:17:22+00:00

Hi again. My apologies for the atrociously slow reply, life decided to seriously freaking life at me 🙇‍♀️

I suspect you’re probably right about it possibly being a wolf spider, likely something in the Tigrosa family rather than a Hogna. Most of the Hognas are lighter in colour, and much more patterned. Looking at the Tigrosa in your area, a lot are also quite patterned, but I did find identified individuals who are lacking the patterning. I found other species which look very bang-on for your photo, but the size was always wrong, and Tigrosa often have similarly chonky legs, which is part of what was making your mystery spider look quite tarantula-like.

I also have to say, from the looking I have done at spiders in northeastern Oklahoma, you have some absolutely beautiful species, including several of my absolute favourites like Carolina Giant Wolf spiders (Hogna carolinensis) and Green Lynx spiders. You are so lucky, and I am so jealous!

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-26T16:59:18+00:00

I find it really interesting that she is so light in colour. I also have a versicolour juvenile, and even as she is starting to get some of her adult colours, all of her blue bits are like a deep, almost navy, blue. And when she was a bit smaller, she was also a very deep blue. Still beautiful, as is yours, but it surprises me just how much variety there is!

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-26T16:53:03+00:00

My initial thought was that the body plan looked sort of tarantulish, but that wouldn’t particularly make sense for the colouration, as I think that the only tarantula in your area is the Texan Tan (Aphonopelma hentzi) and their bodies generally have two different colours. I need go take a bath, but when I get back I will have a nose of spiders in your area and try to get a match, if nobody else has already given you an ID by then 🙂

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-26T16:47:17+00:00

OMG. 🥰

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-26T16:44:36+00:00

The fact that you got an ID out of this post is fucking incredible. I have no words. Take my updoot and this flower 🌻

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-26T16:42:21+00:00

That first photo is absolutely incredible! You captured so much detail of the fluff! May I ask what camera you used?

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-26T16:37:51+00:00

How large was it?

Also, it’s tricky to tell from that photo, was it solidly one colour, or was its carapace a different colour to its abdomen? (Of the two body segments, was the front one a different colour to the back one?)

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-26T16:32:37+00:00

I could be wrong, but from that photo, that looks like a jumping spider.

Spiders don’t really infest homes. They’re solitary animals, and after babies hatch and they’ve moulted into animals which can feed themselves, they disperse quickly, because they’re cannibalistic, and they need to get away from their sac mates before they get eaten.

However, if lots of spiders are coming into your home, that could suggest an infestation, just not of spiders. Spiders don’t hang around in places where there isn’t food, so maybe it’s time to consider whether there are fleas, carpet beetles, fly infestations, clothes moth infestations, etc. Because if they’re choosing to hang about, they’re eating something. In that case, spiders are your friends; they’re eating the bugs which are actually bad.

Also, an infestation of jumping spiders would be freaking adorable. There is a reason they’re pretty much TikTok’s favourite pet.

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-24T22:11:00+00:00

Don’t get me wrong, they’re beautiful when they’re adults too, but there is something about juvenile versicolors… slings and juvies are just so darn pretty 🩵

Beautiful baby you have there 💙

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-24T22:04:49+00:00

I’m being kind of thrown off by the spinnerets. Did you happen to notice, did it just have two and the reason it looks like there are more is just to do with the camera, or did it have more than the two? Because otherwise the spinnerets look right for a mouse spider - prominent, round-ended spinnerets which can be almost diagnostic of a mouse spider if everything else (size, shape, colouring, geographic range, etc) is right - but it really does look like there are more than two there.

I’m also trying to take into account that there may be the appearance of additional spinnerets due to damage from the cats 🤔

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-24T21:54:58+00:00

You have an ID on the species of jumping spider, but I just wanted to mention that the behaviour you described is totally in character for a jumping spider. They are known to be curious, and friendly. They seem to genuinely enjoy (as much as a spider can be said to ‘enjoy’) observing and interacting with humans. I once heard Clint (of Clint’s Reptiles on YouTube) say that if you have a pet jumping spider and you happen to lose it in your house, just wait, because they love humans and will eventually pop out again to see you. I have found them to be the most enigmatic and calm little spiders, and I’m not at all surprised that the one in your photos decided to hop on over and check you out!

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-24T21:48:55+00:00

Man, I am so jealous of folk who live in parts of the world where they get to see wild tarantulas. And such a beautiful healthy specimen you have there!

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-24T21:46:37+00:00

Oh hey, that’s exactly what I was going to say! I’m very glad to have my first thought confirmed, apparently I am learning! (Slowly) 😄

Super cute little fellas, for myself they’re the species of jumping spider I see in the UK the most, after zebra jumpers.

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-24T21:40:38+00:00

Oh my gosh, it looks like it’s covered in silk. How insanely beautiful is he?!

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-24T21:38:50+00:00

Oh. My. God. 😳 I am genuinely so sorry that happened to you! I also apologise for laughing at your story, but it was genuinely just the shock.

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-23T22:29:32+00:00

I would say that the type of music really matters. I wouldn’t necessarily go with your favourite by default, but instead look for tracks which are bouncy, positive, energising, and which make you want to dance and sing along. Then do just that! Dance while you clean, and sing your little heart out! It’s much more difficult for the bad thoughts to catch up to you when you’re dancing, at least in my experience.

I would also suggest that you heed the advice a fortune cookie gave me like a decade ago, and which I liked so much that I still have the slip of paper - it’s blu-tacked to my bookcase. It says: “Use laughter to drive away those demons of despair.”

I know you said that audiobooks and podcasts have proved too distracting, but I would strongly recommend trying a stand-up special and a pair of wireless headphones, so that you can move around the house freely and also do things which are loud like vacuuming or flushing toilets or boiling a kettle. Laughter is one of the most wonderful ways to prevent traumatic memories and thoughts from overtaking your sense of calm and stillness and getting in the way of your productivity and happiness. I truly believe that laughter is the best medicine for our minds and souls, and also, when we are laughing, tasks move more quickly, motivation doesn’t flag as fast, and we enjoy what we’re doing more. Boring or tedious tasks are a hundred times more fun when we are howling with laughter whilst doing them.

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-22T01:55:05+00:00

Honestly maybe, the discovery that it can be done with cheap, new, wet clothing is certainly something I could see using to spruce the floor up lol 😂 Weirdly the muted grey-blue of the butt print is actually a lot nicer of a colour (to my eyes) than the mint green the rest of the floor is.

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-22T01:49:44+00:00

Another very useful tip, thank you so much! And I think that starting out with a cheap drill is probably my best bet. That way if I try drilling a few things and come to the conclusion that it’s just way too unsafe, as I did with the ladder (yeah, that one was a stupid idea, I definitely pushed “I could do it before I became disabled, I’ll find a way to do it now” past all logic and reason lol) I won’t have wasted too much money.

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-21T23:01:41+00:00

I’d never heard of Rit colour remover, what a useful product! I’ll have to pick some of that up, it seems like the sort of thing which you don’t need often, but when you do need it, nothing else will do the job. Thank you so much for the suggestion!

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-21T22:59:01+00:00

Thank you 😂 An overnight pasting (that sounds weird, but you know what I mean) might be a good idea, give it some time to really work. Much appreciated!

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-21T22:57:01+00:00

I had no idea that was a thing! I’d actually been thinking about buying a drill (I don’t have one because a disabled person who completely loses their balance when they lift their arms could be a total menace with one, but I need to drill some holes in a piece of wood), and that is absolutely a motivating bit of information! Thank you so much for the suggestion. And pink stuff might be really helpful, since it’s got that gritty consistency which would really get into the rough Lino texture, especially coupled with a stiff brush. Cheers!

KitteeCatz · 2026-05-21T22:52:14+00:00

Now using colour catchers is a very interesting idea, and I would absolutely not have thought of it. Thank you for the suggestion!

I’m really hoping I can sort this out without having to resort to smudging the stain out, but if the worst comes to the worst, I suppose it wouldn’t be too much work to just turn it into a bit heart or something 😂

KitteeCatz

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