Distribution of the Medically-implicated Hobo Spider (Araneae: Agelenidae) and a Benign Congener, <I>Tegenaria duellica</I>, in the United States and Canada

Abstract

The hobo spider, Tegenaria agrestis (Walckenaer), and the related Tegenaria duellica Simon are very similar European spiders that have become well established in the northwestern United States and British Columbia. The hobo spider is considered to be medically important; T. duellica is considered harmless but is often misidentified as the hobo spider. The current distribution of the hobo spider includes southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, northern Utah, the western half of Montana, western Wyoming, and two small, isolated populations in Colorado. T. duellica is found mostly west of the Cascade and Coastal mountain ranges from southern British Columbia to central Oregon. In large human population centers where both species are sympatric, T. duellica is usually more common than the hobo spider. Data from a total of 1,232 hobo spiders and 395 T. duellica are included in this study.

Phylogeny and taxonomy of European funnel-web spiders of theTegenaria−Malthonicacomplex (Araneae: Agelenidae) based upon morphological and molecular data

“…Tegenaria atrica C. L. Koch, , and Tegenaria domestica (Clerck, ), with their impressively long legs are perfect candidates for causing arachnophobia in susceptible persons. The notorious hobo spider, Tegenaria agrestis (Walckenaer, ), has been blamed for biting humans and causing necrotic wounds in North America, where it has been introduced (Vest, ; Akre & Myhre, ; Binford, ; Baird & Stoltz, ; Vetter et al ., ; Vetter & Swanson, ). It may be, therefore, a species of medical relevance.…”

Human–Spider Entanglements: Understanding and Managing the Good, the Bad, and the Venomous

“…Some researchers (Vetter et al 2003a;Vetter et al 2003b;Bennett and Vetter 2004) have begun addressing human-arachnid interactions by challenging the misdiagnoses of spider bites. Such research is crucial so that appropriate medical strategies are implemented and that knowledge of which spider species are actually harmful is provided.…”

“…We do so by outlining the detrimental impacts of spiders on humans through envenomation. Although venomous spiders are only found in certain regions of Canada (Bennett 2001;Kasumovic and Andrade 2004;Salomon, Vibert and Bennett 2010), it should be noted that many Canadians suffer from arachnophobia and misdiagnoses of spider bites (Vetter et al 2003a;Vetter et al 2003b;Bennett and Vetter 2004). Since Australia features a number of venomous spiders and these encounters have been relatively well documented, four major culprits for arachnophobia and fears of spiders in general have been highlighted.…”

Spiders (Order: Araneae)

“…198 These members of the Agelenidae family have a distinctive, funnel -shaped web, but this spider should not be confused with the more dangerous, unrelated Australian funnel -web spider ( Atrax robustus O.P. 198 These members of the Agelenidae family have a distinctive, funnel -shaped web, but this spider should not be confused with the more dangerous, unrelated Australian funnel -web spider ( Atrax robustus O.P.…”