Schematic male of Cheiracanthium a) claws b) tarsus c) metatarsus d) tibia e) patella f) femur g) trochanter h) coxa i) pedipalp k) setae m) prosoma (cephalothorax) n) opisthosoma (abdomen) o) spinneretsThe eye arrangement of spiders in the genus Cheiracanthium
Cheiracanthium, commonly called yellow sac spiders, is a
genus of
araneomorph spiders in the family
Cheiracanthiidae, and was first described by
Carl Ludwig Koch in 1839.[4] They are usually pale in colour, and have an
abdomen that can range from yellow to beige. Both sexes range in size from 5 to 10 millimetres (0.20 to 0.39 in). They are unique among common house spiders because their
tarsi do not point either outward, like members of Tegenaria, or inward, like members of Araneus), making them easier to identify.
Venom
Though they are beneficial predators in agricultural fields, they are also known to be mildly venomous to humans. Painful bites may be incurred from species such as C. punctorium in
Europe, C. mildei in Europe and
North America, C. inclusum in the
Americas, C. lawrencei in
South Africa and C. japonicum in
Japan.[5]Cheiracanthium venom is purportedly
necrotic, and can cause
pain,
swelling, and
lesions in humans,[5] but the necrotic nature and severity of its bite has been disputed.[6] A study of twenty confirmed Cheiracanthium bites in the United States and Australia found that none resulted in necrosis, and a review of the international literature on 39 verified Cheiracanthium bites found only one case of mild necrosis in the European species
C. punctorium.[6]
Misconceptions
A theory that these spiders were attracted to the smell of gasoline was involved in a series of consumer vehicle callbacks in which spiderwebs had blocked fuel lines, but it has since been disproven by a study which found that the juvenile yellow sac spiders were attracted to the hose material itself.[7]
Species
Cheiracanthium is primarily an
Old World genus, with many species found from northern
Europe to
Japan, from
Southern Africa to
India and
Australia. The only known species in the
New World are C. inclusum and C. mildei. While the former also occurs in
Africa and
Réunion, the latter is found in the
Holarctic region and
Argentina. They can also be found in the lower mainland of
British Columbia,
Canada. The genus is quite diverse in
Africa and at least three or four species are known to occur in
Egyptiancotton fields alone.[1] As of August 2022[update] it contains 214 species, found in the Caribbean, South America, Oceania, Europe, Central America, Africa, Asia, North America, and on
Saint Helena:[1]
^
abcdGloor, Daniel; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Blick, Theo; Kropf, Christian (2019).
"Gen. Cheiracanthium C. L. Koch, 1839". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern.
doi:
10.24436/2. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
^Bonaldo, A. B.; Brescovit, A. D. (1992). "As aranhas do gênero Cheiracanthium C. L. Koch, 1839 na região neotropical (Araneae, Clubionidae)". Revista Brasileira de Entomologia. 36: 732.
Schematic male of Cheiracanthium a) claws b) tarsus c) metatarsus d) tibia e) patella f) femur g) trochanter h) coxa i) pedipalp k) setae m) prosoma (cephalothorax) n) opisthosoma (abdomen) o) spinneretsThe eye arrangement of spiders in the genus Cheiracanthium
Cheiracanthium, commonly called yellow sac spiders, is a
genus of
araneomorph spiders in the family
Cheiracanthiidae, and was first described by
Carl Ludwig Koch in 1839.[4] They are usually pale in colour, and have an
abdomen that can range from yellow to beige. Both sexes range in size from 5 to 10 millimetres (0.20 to 0.39 in). They are unique among common house spiders because their
tarsi do not point either outward, like members of Tegenaria, or inward, like members of Araneus), making them easier to identify.
Venom
Though they are beneficial predators in agricultural fields, they are also known to be mildly venomous to humans. Painful bites may be incurred from species such as C. punctorium in
Europe, C. mildei in Europe and
North America, C. inclusum in the
Americas, C. lawrencei in
South Africa and C. japonicum in
Japan.[5]Cheiracanthium venom is purportedly
necrotic, and can cause
pain,
swelling, and
lesions in humans,[5] but the necrotic nature and severity of its bite has been disputed.[6] A study of twenty confirmed Cheiracanthium bites in the United States and Australia found that none resulted in necrosis, and a review of the international literature on 39 verified Cheiracanthium bites found only one case of mild necrosis in the European species
C. punctorium.[6]
Misconceptions
A theory that these spiders were attracted to the smell of gasoline was involved in a series of consumer vehicle callbacks in which spiderwebs had blocked fuel lines, but it has since been disproven by a study which found that the juvenile yellow sac spiders were attracted to the hose material itself.[7]
Species
Cheiracanthium is primarily an
Old World genus, with many species found from northern
Europe to
Japan, from
Southern Africa to
India and
Australia. The only known species in the
New World are C. inclusum and C. mildei. While the former also occurs in
Africa and
Réunion, the latter is found in the
Holarctic region and
Argentina. They can also be found in the lower mainland of
British Columbia,
Canada. The genus is quite diverse in
Africa and at least three or four species are known to occur in
Egyptiancotton fields alone.[1] As of August 2022[update] it contains 214 species, found in the Caribbean, South America, Oceania, Europe, Central America, Africa, Asia, North America, and on
Saint Helena:[1]
^
abcdGloor, Daniel; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Blick, Theo; Kropf, Christian (2019).
"Gen. Cheiracanthium C. L. Koch, 1839". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern.
doi:
10.24436/2. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
^Bonaldo, A. B.; Brescovit, A. D. (1992). "As aranhas do gênero Cheiracanthium C. L. Koch, 1839 na região neotropical (Araneae, Clubionidae)". Revista Brasileira de Entomologia. 36: 732.