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Spider Photos - Sac Spiders

The venom of sac spiders contains a cytotoxin—which means it kills cells—like the venom of a brown recluse. Unlike brown recluse bites which can take 2-3 months to heal, most sac spider bites heal much more quickly, although the reaction will vary greatly from individual to individual. Typical symptoms of a sac spider bite include a stinging sensation followed by redness and mild swelling. In a few cases, the bite may blister and break, leaving a sore that can take several weeks to heal. Sometimes the person will feel mildly ill. Sac spiders belong to the genus Cheiracanthium and the family Clubionidae. They are quite small and easy to overlook—about 1/4 - 3/8 inch long, with no conspicuous markings. The front legs are longer than the other three pairs. Sac spiders are quite pale. A common house species, the yellow sac spider is pale greenish, tan or straw coloured. Other sac spiders are light brown. Sac spiders typically have darker mouthparts and a faint dark stripe running lengthwise down the abdomen. Normally, these are outdoor spiders, but sac spiders often invade structures. Their numbers increase significantly in the fall when the weather turns cool and their food supply disappears. If there are small insects available, sac spiders can become established indoors. At night, sac spiders actively hunt their prey—usually small insects. In search of prey, they run quickly waving their forelegs before them. Indoors, they can be observed on walls and ceilings, but drop to the floor to seek cover when disturbed. Sac spiders construct a silken tube or sac in a protected area, such as within a leaf, under landscape timbers or logs, or at the junction of a wall and ceiling, and they use this sac as their daytime retreat. This is how the sac spider gets its name. These spiders do not build webs. After mating, females lay 30 to 48 eggs and cover them in a thin coat of loosely spun silk. The small, white, paper-like sacs are often found in easily overlooked locations, along ceilings and corners, or behind pictures and shelves. The female may guard these egg sacs and may produce several egg masses during her lifetime. Inspect for sac spiders by looking for sacs in upper corners of rooms, ceilings, behind pictures, on window moulding, blinds or curtains. During the day, sac spiders may be inside these sacs so vacuuming is an excellent method of control. Remove and discard vacuum cleaner bags to prevent reinfestation. Here's some photos of Sac spiders. Click here for a report on a bite by a sac spider. Many thanks for allowing us to use the photos sent in. All photos are copyright to their owners and may not be reproduced without permission. Please choose a section.

Unidentified Spiders 2011	Unidentified Spiders 2010
Unidentified Spiders 2009 (1)	Unidentified Spiders 2009 (2)	Unidentified Spiders 2008 (1)
Unidentified Spiders 2008 (2)	Unidentified Spiders 2007 (1)	Unidentified Spiders 2007 (2)
Unidentified Spiders 2007 (3)	Unidentified Spiders 2006 (1)	Unidentified Spiders 2006 (2)
Unidentified Spiders 2006 (3)	Unidentified Spiders 2005 (2)	Unidentified Spiders 2005 (3)
Unidentified Spiders 2005 (1)	Unidentified Spiders 2004 (1)	Unidentified Spiders 2004 (2)
Unidentified Spiders 2003	Unidentified Spiders 2002	Unidentified Spiders 2001
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Woodlouse Hunters	Yellow & Broad faced Sac Spiders

Yellow Sac Spiders

Broad Faced Sac Spiders

BROAD FACED SAC SPIDERS
Cheiracanthium punctorium

*The broad face sac spider, trachelas tranquillus, is often confused with the woodlouse hunter, being similar in shape & colour. Its abdomen is more sac shaped however* and is a light yellow/grey with a darker marking on the dorsal side. Its cephalothorax is dark with enlarged chelicerae. Its foremost legs are the darkest and get lighter towards the back legs and it grows from 3 - 10mm. It is normally found Normally found at the base of plants, in grasses and in ground debris. In the United States is is found in New England and adjacent Canada south to Georgia and Alabama and west to Kansas and Minnesota. This is a hunting spider so it makes no web. However, it builds a sac like tube to hid and rest in diurnally which is also used to protect its eggs in autumn. This spider tends to forage on other dead arachnids and insects which can cause its bite to be particularly unpleasant due to infections.
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11 July, 2011: Have had more than a few of these in our bedroom Hoping they are not dangerous... THANKS!
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11 July, 2011: Help! These are invading my house and I have a toddler and a newborn, so I am wondering if they are poisonous! Thanks!!!! ~Brooke
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12 June, 2011: Just found this spider upstairs crawling across some boxes I just moved! EEEk. Im hoping that it isnt a brown recluse. :( I dont mind spiders living with us (we have a Rose hair tarantula), but if that is a brown recluse how do we get rid of them. Sorry for the muted colored ones... It was in a cup. Thanks so much for any information you can give me. A!
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Reply: No I'd say this is a broad faced sac spider - glen 8 June, 2011: Hi Glen! Could you please help me identify this spider that I found in my bedroom. It’s in Houston, Texas. I am worried whether this may be the infamous brown recluse. Thanks a lot, you’ve done a great job with the website! Very interesting and helpful! Sergey.

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6 April, 2011: Hi, I have some photos of an arachnid I found in my house, I finally determined it to be a broad-faced sac spider. You can post these on your site if you like. Found in Wichita, KS. nathan Click for a larger view

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21 August, 2010: Hello again Glen, Sorry to be a bother, but I found another one of them today and attempted to get an up close and personal look/pic. I will send you the 2 best pics I have, which proved to be difficult as it was wandering around the floor. It appeared to be looking for food, it was "feeling" the floor as it moved and the best I could tell, only had 6 eyes. It's abdomen is light gray as is hard to tell in the photos I've sent. I do believe it's definitely the broad faced sac spider. I was wondering if you personally knew any more about these than what is already on your site? Could I have an infestation here? I mean, I seem to find 2 a day in the last week. As I said in my last email, I don't usually have an issue with catch and release, but the numbers thing is why I am concerned. I tried to clean the pics up a little, but being on the floor made it difficult to get a good shot and the floor being white made it difficult for the camera to self adjust. Again, I apologize for being a pain.. Just want to know as much as I can about these. Thanks, Bill


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15 August, 2010: Hi Glen, I'm beginning to think our backyard and house have become a nice spider haven. I just emailed you earlier this week about a wolf spider. Please tell me this isn't a brown recluse that we found this morning! I don't mind spiders but I do mind ones that can be potentially dangerous. We live in south Fl. Thanks again Glen! Hope you are having a nice weekend! Tiffany

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15 August, 2010: Hey we have yet another spider here we were wondering about....I wasn't sure if this was a brown recluse or maybe a huntsman..or maybe I'm wrong on both but we were curious so here he is!
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28 June, 2010: Hi Glen, It's great to see your page with all the photos, best place I've seen for spider identification! I live in Vancouver, Southern BC, Canada. I have an array of spider living around my house, however I saw this one and wanted to know whether it might be a Brown Recluse or not?? I was bitten by a spider last Nov in my bedroom, and had a bad reaction to it: Initial pin prick sensation, very itchy, then started to swell the following day with a dip where the bite occurred that began to darken before I started 10 days of antibiotics. All OK now though! Could you help? Thanks, Wendy.
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22 June, 2010: Hello Glen, I live in north-eastern new york and have a colony of these in my cellar door way (at least 4, one in each corner. Their webs are like funnel shaped tunnels, and the silk is extremely strong). (Bilco door over a 6ft deep stair well made of cinder block. ) I am thinking it is a broad faced sac spider from the internet searching I have done, but not sure. Can you help me? It is perched on a regular sized bathroom Dixie cup. Walking, it was about a little smaller then a 50 cent piece. The back end was quite bulbous about the size of the end of your thumb.

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Reply: I think this looks like a broad faced sac spider - glen 11 December, 2009: Hey! Back in the summer i found a spider that was interesting to look at and didnt think anything of it... a few days later i had a spider bite that ulcered but went away after a few weeks... earlier today i found another spider that looks similar to the one i found over the summer... i am hoping you could help me out with identifying it because i cant seem to come to a satisfactory conclusion... please let me know if you cannot help.. Thanks Geoff
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Reply: I think this looks like a broad faced sac spider - glen 16 October, 2009: This spider was walking across my desk at work. I am located in Bristol, Virginia USA. I am located about ¼ mile from the Tennessee border if that helps narrow it down. I believe it to be a Trapdoor Spider. Feel free to use on your site if you wish and it can be freely distributed to whomever would want it. Thank you. Jeff "Coz"

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3 October, 2009: This spider was walking across my desk at work. I am located in Bristol, Virginia USA. I am located about ¼ mile from the Tennessee border if that helps narrow it down. I believe it to be a Trapdoor Spider. Feel free to use on your site if you wish and it can be freely distributed to whomever would want it. Thank you.

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31August, 2009: Hello again Glenda, I wish I wasn't able to find another one of these spiders in my house again so soon. This spider is lucky to be alive as he came very close to biting a loved one on the face. He's very ill tempered and I had to keep him in a plastic baggie when I took the pictures because he couldn't stop running and gnashing his fangs. As promised, here are some pictures free for anyone to use ... I think it's a broad faced sac spider. But I could be wrong. He's shown on a New Jersey state quarter, because that's where he's from. Just me, Laura Lee.


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3 September, 2008: Good Evening, I must tell you, I love your website and found it very helpful. I am writing to send you this picture of a broad faced sac spider. I only know what its name is by identifying it on your website. I have seen two of them in my home during the last week. I believe they have also bitten me twice on my leg, (in my sleep) as I have woken up with red welts on two separate occasions. The first one I saw was on the ceiling on my boys’ room. They spotted it and yelled for me to come kill it, which I did. SORRY! I thought it was very strange and I had never seen that type of spider before. The second time I saw one it was on the wall in my living room. I quickly grabbed my camera to snap a shot before, yes that’s right, killing it. (Sorry!!) The purpose of taking the picture was to identify what it was, since I had never seen that type of spider before. I googled “spiders + Ohio” and your site was one that came up. I immediately found the broad faced sac spider photos and was relieved that I was able to put a name with the critter. My question to you is, does this spider pose a serious threat to my children? I believe I have been bitten by them, and I have been ok, but they are 4 & 6 years old. Could the bite be more serious for a child? Thanks again for your wonderful website. Brenda K. – Plain City, Ohio
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Reply: I think this looks more like a broad faced sac spider than a woodlouse hunter. 3 September, 2008: Hello, I found three of these spiders in my house since recently moving here and was researching on your site and thought it might be a woodlouse hunter. Do you think that's what it is? Thank you, Sarah, Ohio
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22 September, 2008: Hello Glen, I have been a frequent visitor of the site for over a year, and am a lifetime long spider lover, but have never had any good pictures to contribute since my camera's macro function is so limited. I took this photo of a broad face sac spider after I was forced to evict it from it's home in my mother's kitchen. I used a magnifying glass to get in close, but because of the dark colour you can't see all of its eye's clearly. I still thought it was a neat little photo, and since you only have the two photos of these I thought maybe you could use it on the webpage. [] Hopefully I get some neat pictures of other spider species around the area before it gets too cold. Next time I'll find a way to get better light. I live in NW Indiana by the way. Take care. -Adam
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15 July, 2007: Hi, I was wondering if you could help identify this spider. We have a cabin in the El Dorado forest near Lake Tahoe & these spiders appear there a lot. We find them in the sinks & other areas around the cabin. I have looked at pictures, but have not come across any that look like it could be related to this spider. Thank you for any help in you can provide me in figuring out what type of spider this is. Judy
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1 October, 2004: We found this spider at our work on Martha's Vineyard Island, Massachusetts. Please help us identify it! Thanks. Kelley Debettencourt
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