Spidering in the New Year

1 January 2021

Now that winter has arrived with freezing temperatures and a healthy snowpack, the number of new spider records for this project will probably slow down. Many spiders will hide away for the winter either in the leaf litter or behind bark, but there are some that do hunt below the snow or even on top of the snow on milder days. We'll have to wait until the end of March or early April before they become abundant once again.

Our homes provide a nice room temperature abode during winter and indoor spiders are often the easiest spiders to find through the winter months. My daughter brought me a juvenile Barn Funnel Weaver (Tegenaria domestica) this morning; it had been crawling around in my shop in the basement. I've also seen Triangulate Combfoot (Steatoda triangulosa) in a building corner and even an Asian Wall Jumper (Attulus fasciger) hunting in my office window so far this winter.

As you await the warmer temperatures of spring, keep an eye out for those indoor spiders! We could use some additional records of indoor spiders, particularly in regions outside of the Twin Cities where the bulk of our records come from.

Happy Spidering!

Posted on January 2, 2021 01:00 AM by cheins1 cheins1

Comments

Thank you for this. I'm looking for my inside spiders (several of whom took up residence and were visible for weeks) and would love to see them!

Posted by kimcwren about 3 years ago

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