Myth: How to recognize hobo spiders

Myth: You can recognize the Hobo Spider by a chevron pattern on the abdomen, "boxing glove" shaped palps in front of the body, and funnel-shaped web.

Fact: This common idea is a misinterpretation of basically correct information found on the Internet about the hobo spider, a (possibly) medically important species of northwestern USA (see map, below) and Europe (and nowhere else). People will insist on finding a way (no matter how bogus) to "recognize" a spider by so-called markings...

Hobo spider, Tegenaria (or Eratigena) agrestis. Real distribution in 2003; real bites do not occur outside pink area! Small dots are isolated populations.

True, this species often has a pattern of chevrons on the abdomen, but they are worthless in identification. That is one of the commonest pattern types among spiders, and literally thousands of species have it. What's more, it's not always present in hobo spiders — like other species, they are variable in color!

Again, hobo spiders do make a funnel web, but that is a characteristic of the entire spider family Agelenidae, with numerous species; even some non-agelenids make funnel-like webs; so the funnel does not mean hobo spider.

And again, it's true that male hobo spiders have enlarged pedipalps. But that doesn't mean you can recognize the species that way; everymale spider on earth has enlarged palps! Those are the male sex organs, and naturally, males all have them. The fine structure of the palps is indeed one of the keys to identification, but to see how a hobo spider's palp differs from other male palps you need a microscope with at least 30x magnification.

As with most spiders, a naked-eye view is simply not enough to identify a hobo spider. Whole body photos on web sites (including the old Hobo Spider Web Site) are only for illustration and have no identification value; around 200 other species in the same region appear similar.

Please note that if you live outside its range (pink area on map), you don't have hobo spiders!

Figures below:

Some hobo spiders have a strong chevron pattern, some a weak one, and some have none at all. All male spiders have enlarged palps, from the tiny Dictyna to the largest tarantulas, without all being hobo spiders! Between 1,000-2,000 known spider species make funnel webs, without all being hobo spiders!