Parson Spider

2019 June 30

I actually found this one back on January 23, 2019, crawling over the edge of our windowsill. She was pretty fast, so I only got the one picture. This one was uploaded full size, so you can click on it to see it bigger.

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So, anyway, it turns out that I had just heard about these from an unconnected source. It looks like a Parson Spider, Herpyllus ecclesiasticus. The name comes from the white mark on the abdomen, which is supposed to look like the the collar that parsons and ministers frequently wore back in the 1800s. I personally can’t judge whether it looks like that or not, because I can’t find any pictures of an 1800s parson to compare it to.

Anyway, these spiders are one of the species that has successfully colonized the house environment, and are seen indoors pretty frequently. And no, they are not dangerous. Although they can be a bit surprising, they are pretty fast and big enough to notice. As ground spiders, they don’t spin webs, instead they actively hunt around your house for things to eat. And, since they are predators, they are most likely eating things that you would like to find in your house even less, like silverfish and roaches and maybe bedbugs.

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