Steatoda grossa (C. L. Koch, 1838)
Description
Conductor small. Epigyne with slender septum. Body colour very variable from whitish yellow via brown (with pattern then) to almost black with blurred pattern. Prosoma and sternum fine wrinkled. Legs unicoloured.
Body length male: 5.0-10.0 mmBody length female: 6.5-10.0 mm
Additional information
In Central Europe always in buildings, in Southern Europe in basements and caves.
This species can bite humans. A bite may cause prolonged pain and systemic effects similar to Latrodectus bites, but are on average less severe (Nentwig et al., 2013).
Distribution
Phenology
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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Figures
Pedipalp
(Wiehle 1937)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Azheganova 1968)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Yoshida 2001a)
Pedipalp
(Roberts 1995)
Pedipalp
(Wiehle 1937)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Kovács & Szinetár 2018)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Gündüz et al. 2022)
Pedipalp, prolateral view
(Van Keer et al. 2024)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Van Keer et al. 2024)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Van Keer et al. 2024)
Habitus, dorsal view
(Van Keer et al. 2024)
Epigyne
(Roberts 1995)
Epigyne
(Snazell & Jones 1993)
Epigyne
(Wiehle 1937)
Epigyne
(Yoshida 2001a)
Epigyne
(Kovács & Szinetár 2018)
Epigyne
(Gündüz et al. 2022)
Epigyne
(Van Keer et al. 2024)
Vulva
(Wiehle 1937)
Vulva
(Yoshida 2001a)
Vulva
(Kovács & Szinetár 2018)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Van Keer et al. 2024)
Habitus, dorsal view
(Van Keer et al. 2024)
Habitus, ventral view
(Van Keer et al. 2024)
Habitus
(Wiehle 1937)
Habitus
(Yoshida 2001a)
Distribution List
"No references" does not mean that the species does not occur in this country, but that we have not yet inserted the reference for it. We are working on it.
References
Azheganova N S (1968) Kratkii opredelitel' paukov (Aranei) lesnoi i lesostepnoi zony SSSR. Akademia Nauk SSSR, 149pp. 
Benhacene R, Adjami A, Hadjeb A, Kermiche K, Ouakid M L (2023) Bibliographic checklist of the Algerian spider fauna (Araneae). Zootaxa 5352: 301-357
Blagoev G (2002) Check list of Macedonian spiders (Araneae). Acta Zoologica Bulgarica 54: 9-34
Blagoev G, Deltshev C, Lazarov S, Naumova M (2018) The spiders (Araneae) of Bulgaria. Version: August 2018. National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Online at http://www.nmnhs.com/spiders-bulgaria/ (accessed on 10.9.2018)
Bosmans R, Van Keer J, Russell-Smith A, Hadjiconstantis M, Komnenov M, Bosselaers J, Huber S, McCowan D, Snazell R, Decae A, Zoumides C, Kielhorn K-H, Oger P (2019c) Spiders of Cyprus (Araneae). A catalogue of all currently known species from Cyprus. Newsletter of the Belgian Arachnological Society 34, Suppl. 1: 1-173
Bosmans R, Van Keer K (2017) Een herziene soortenlijst van de Belgische spinnen (Araneae). Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging 32: 39-69
Bosmans R. (unpubl.) Provisional list of spiders of North Africa. Database excerpt Aug. 2019
Branco V V, Morano E, Cardoso P (2019) An update to the Iberian spider checklist (Araneae). Zootaxa 4614: 201-254
Cawley M (2001) Distribution records for uncommon spiders (Araneae) including five species new to Ireland. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 25: 135-143
Cera I (2018) The checklist of Latvian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae). Environmental and Experimental Biology 16: 139-152
Danışman T, Kunt K B, Özkütük R S, Coşar İ (2024a) The checklist of the spiders of Turkey. Version 2024 [last updated 01 January 2024], online at http://www.spidersofturkey.info
Grbac I, Katušić L, Lukić M (2019) Catalogue of spiders (Araneae) deposited in the Croatian Natural History Museum. Natura Croatica 28: 185-269
Gündüz G, Gharkhloo M M, Yağmur E A (2022) Additional records for Theridiidae Sundevall, 1833 in Iran (Araneae: Theridiidae). Biharean Biologist 16: 1-5
Ivanov V V (2013) The checklist of Belarusian spiders (Arachnida, Araneae). Zoology and Ecology 4: 293-311
Koponen S, Fritzén N R, Pajunen T (2016) Checklist of spiders in Finland (Araneae). 6th version, December 2016, online at http://biolcoll.utu.fi/arach/checklist_of_spiders_in_Finland.htm
Kostanjšek R, Kuntner M (2015) Araneae Sloveniae: a national spider species checklist. ZooKeys 474: 1-91
Kovács G, Szinetár C (2018) [Data on the biology of the cupboard spider: Steatoda grossa (C. L. Koch, 1838), (Araneae, Theridiidae)]. Biológia Savaria Természettudományi és Sporttudományi Közlemények 17: 91-108
Krasnov B (2011) Recorded for Western European Russia. Pers. comm., 21.06.2011
Kronestedt T (2001) Checklist of Spiders (Araneae) in Sweden [Preliminary version February 2001]
Lavery A (2019) A revised checklist of the spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Arachnology 18: 196-212
Le Peru B (2007) Catalogue et répartition des araignées de France. Revue Arachnologique 16: 1-468
Nentwig W, Gnädinger M, Fuchs J, Ceschi A (2013) A two year study of verified spider bites in Switzerland and a review of the European spider bite literature. Toxicon 73: 104-110
Ohlert E (1867) Die Araneiden oder echten Spinnen der Provinz Preussen. Leipzig, 172 pp.
Otto S (2022) Caucasian spiders. A faunistic database on the spiders of the Caucasus Ecoregion. Database version 02.2022. Internet: caucasus-spiders.info.
Pantini P, Isaia M (2019) Araneae.it: the online catalog of Italian spiders, with addenda on other arachnid orders occurring in Italy (Arachnida: Araneae, Opiliones, Palpigradi, Pseudoscorpionida, Scorpiones, Solifugae). Fragmenta Entomologica 51: 127-152
Pfliegler W A, Schönhofer A, Niedbała W, Vella P, Sciberras A, Vella A (2017) New records of mites (Acari) and harvestmen (Opiliones) from Malta with a preliminary checklist of Maltese Arachnida. Soil Organisms 89: 85-110
Polchaninova N, Prokopenko E (2019) An updated checklist of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Left-Bank Ukraine. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 57: 60-64 & App
Ponomarev A V (2022) Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of the southeast of the Russian Plain: catalogue, the fauna specific features. SSC RAS Publishers, Rostov-on-Don, 640 pp.
Roberts M J (1995) Collins Field Guide: Spiders of Britain & Northern Europe. HarperCollins, London, 383 pp.
Rozwałka R, Stanska M (2008) Check-list of spiders (Araneae) of Poland. 1. December 2008. online at http://www.arachnologia.edu.pl/en/species/8-spiders-of-poland.html
Růžička V, Řezáč M (2022a) Seznam pavouků České republiky. List of spiders of the Czech Republic. Online at https://www.arachnology.cz/seznam-pavouku-cr-26.html and https://www.arachnology.cz/en/seznam-pavouku-cr-26.html
Samu F, Szinetár C (1999) Bibliographic check list of the Hungarian spider fauna. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 11: 161-184
Snazell R, Jones D (1993) The theridiid spider Steatoda nobilis (Thorell, 1875) in Britain. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 9: 164-167
Van Keer J, Bosselaers J, Oger P (2024) Description of four new Steatoda species (Araneae: Theridiidae) from the Mediterranean region with notes on some related species. Journal of the Belgian Arachnological Society 39(2, suppl.): 1-77
Vasiliev A I, Mikhailov K G (2023) Annotated checklist of spiders (Araneae) of the Republic of Moldova. Invertebrate Zoology 20: 307-342
Wiehle H (1937) Spinnentiere oder Arachnoidea, VIII. 26: Familie Theridiidae oder Haubennetzspinnen (Kugelspinnen). Die Tierwelt Deutschlands 33: 119-222
WSC (2024) World Spider Catalog. Version 25.0. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (22.01.2024) doi: 10.24436/2
Yoshida H (2001a) The spider genera Robertus, Enoplognatha, Steatoda and Crustulina (Araneae: Theridiidae) from Japan. Acta Arachnologica 50: 31-48
Zarikian N A (2022b) New records on Salticidae and Theridiidae (Araneae) spiders from Armenia. Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum 17: 169-185