''Steatoda bipunctata'' is a species of cob-web

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

, of the genus ''

Steatoda The spider genus ''Steatoda'', in the family Theridiidae, includes about 120 recognized species, distributed around the world (including many cosmopolitan species which are found among human populations worldwide). One common name is cupboard spi ...

'', in the family

Theridiidae Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders first described by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. This diverse, globally distributed family includes ...

. With a holarctic distribution, it is common in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. It may be found in proximity to human structures, such as basements or sheds. A nickname for this arachnid is the Rabbit Hutch Spider, since rabbit hutches often make a suitable habitat. The ''Steatoda bipunctata'' is similar in shape to the Black Widow spider of the genus ''

Latrodectus ''Latrodectus'' is a broadly distributed genus of spiders with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. This group is composed of those often loosely called black widow spiders, brown widow spiders, and similar spiders. Howeve ...

'' and can thus be mistaken for it, although its bite is significantly less dangerous to humans. For this reason, species of the genus ''Steatoda'' are commonly called 'False Widows'. The abdomens of both sexes are bulbous and brownish in coloration, typically with a broken pale line down the center and another pale line across the anterior portion of the abdomen. The apodemes (places of muscle attachment) on the dorsal side of the abdomen look like pairs of dark dimples and presumably give the spider its Latin name ''bi-'' (two) and ''-punctata'' (spots). The underside of the abdomen of the Rabbit Hutch Spider reveals a most interesting pattern resembling the infinity sign. The female abdomen is light brown and often shiny compared to the males. Steatoda bipunctata rarely exceeds 7 mm in body length and there are no known instances of

envenomation Envenomation is the process by which venom is injected by the bite or sting of a venomous animal. Many kinds of animals, including mammals (e.g., the northern short-tailed shrew, ''Blarina brevicauda''), reptiles (e.g., the king cobra), spider ...

. It is highly unlikely the fangs of this small species can penetrate human skin.

References

External links

* Steatoda Spiders of Europe Spiders described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Holarctic spiders {{Theridiidae-stub