The giant house spider has been treated as either one species, under the name Eratigena atrica, or as three … See more

The two sexes do not differ in coloration or markings. Its coloration is mainly dark brown. On its sternum is a lighter marking, with three light spots on each side that form an arrow-like shape pointing toward the head of th… See more

The first description of a spider now assigned to this species was by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1843, under the name Tegenaria atrica. Other supposedly different species were described later, including Tegenaria saeva by … See more

E. atrica is found in Europe, Central Asia and Northern Africa. It was unwittingly introduced to the Pacific Northwest of North America circa 1900 due to human activity and has strongly increased in numbers for the last cen… See more

The webs built by the giant house spider are flat and messy with a funnel at one end. They do not contain sticky threads. The spider lurks in the funnel until a small invertebrate happens to get trapped in the web, at whi… See more

Humorist David Sedaris has written about his relationship with E. atrica. His essay "April & Paris" documents his growing affection toward and domestic association with giant house spiders, particularly one named Apri… See more