Unknown Striped Spider Crawled up Ankle, Brushed it Off

[Xyclone]

Hey ATOT,
Random late night incident: I was about to go to sleep and I felt something on my ankle. I thought it was my cat brushing between my legs, but it wasn't, so I automatically assumed it was a spider and brushed/hit it off. It wasn't dead, so I lightly stepped on it to preserve the body.

Upon inspection, the body is amber-brown, the legs are a light amber/light brown, and the back body is striped a dull yellow and dark brown. My ankle/calf is itching, but it could be a placebo. Thoughts on how to identify our little friend? I'll try to find my camera to take pics.

This is in Southern California, in the San Fernando Valley (north Los Angeles region).

UPDATE:It might be the Steatoda Grossa, although the stripes look more defined/uniform, and the legs look darker brown. This was the most commonly mistaken spider brought in to UC Riverside's etymologist.

 

[brainhulk]

http://www.calpoison.org/public/spiders.html

 

[brainhulk]

i remember them saying the brown recluse has what looks like a violin shape on the thorax...

 

[Xyclone]

Haha, I stumbled on that link through Google, thanks, though.

From the link:
"If you see a brown spider with markings on the tail end, it cannot be a brown recluse spider. Any markings, patterns or spots on the tail end of a spider immediately eliminates the possibility that it is a brown recluse spider. It is, instead, one of dozens of brown spiders that live in houses and yards. They may bite, but they are not dangerous."

Phew, I was really tired and didn't want to stay up all night looking after the possible bite. The fact that it was striped in the classic "poisonous" insect colors scared me, since I've never seen that. We see Black Widows all the time in Los Angeles, and even find them in the house sometimes, but never striped spiders.

 

[Newbian]

To bad man... you will be dead by the end of tomorrow.

Please forward me all your porn asap.

 

[brainhulk]

i used to collect black widows when i was a kid. those suckers killed every insect i could put in its jar!

 

[darkswordsman17]

Even if it had been a Brown Recluse its not really anything to worry about, just clean the bite (peroxide or alcohol), bandage it and see how it turns out. Chances of it being serious are very very low, and I think the most likely issue would be infection especially if you scratch at it.

 

[Xyclone]

To bad man... you will be dead by the end of tomorrow.

Please forward me all your porn asap.

 

[Xyclone]

i used to collect black widows when i was a kid. those suckers killed every insect i could put in its jar!

Oh yes, we have had our fair share of black widow gladiator fights. One tough sucker would stay alive and kill every other black widow. She must have killed like 3 black widows and at least a dozen crickets.

 

[Xyclone]

Even if it had been a Brown Recluse its not really anything to worry about, just clean the bite (peroxide or alcohol), bandage it and see how it turns out. Chances of it being serious are very very low, and I think the most likely issue would be infection especially if you scratch at it.

Good, rational advice. Even though I'm positive this is no brown recluse, just a poisonous spider (I guess it's just poisonous to other insects, only brown recluse/black widow/hobo spider bites are cause for concern in So Cal), I will keep this in mind for future spider bites. I am going to clean the bite anyways.

It's funny that we speak again; I remember buying a video card from you more than four years ago.

 

[sandorski]

Good News! Lifer status comes with $10k Funeral Coverage.

Bad News! You're gonna be using it.

 

[Newbian]

Good News! Lifer status comes with $10k Funeral Coverage.

Bad News! You're gonna be using it.

Damn, they must go broke when olds gets bored.

 

[Sea Moose]

You now have striped spider aids

Can i have have your car and/or bus pass?

 

[Xyclone]

It might be the Steatoda Grossa, although the stripes look more defined/uniform, and the legs look darker brown. This was the most commonly mistaken spider brought in to UC Riverside's etymologist.

Seamoose delivered the most lulz as of yet. 10 points!

 

[brainhulk]

wow i google imaged camel spiders...damn

 

[Xyclone]

wow i google imaged camel spiders...damn

I have the feeling this spider wasn't a camel "spider."

 

[darkswordsman17]

Good, rational advice. Even though I'm positive this is no brown recluse, just a poisonous spider (I guess it's just poisonous to other insects, only brown recluse/black widow/hobo spider bites are cause for concern in So Cal), I will keep this in mind for future spider bites. I am going to clean the bite anyways.

It's funny that we speak again; I remember buying a video card from you more than four years ago.

Spiders get a bad rap in general. Even the ones that are potentially dangerous, the chances of it being serious are small. Encounters with them are going to be fairly limited, them biting you fairly rare as well, and the chances of the venom being really harmful as well. Generally, the panic and infections end up being bigger culprits in bug bites than the bites themselves. Same thing with snake bites, often its people going into shock (from panic) that does the real damage, not so much the venom. Stay calm and treat the wound as soon as possible and keep an eye on it. If its a known dangerous variety, be sure to have someone that keep an eye on you in the event that things turn for the worse. If its a snake, I'd recommend going to a hospital ASAP.

It might be the Steatoda Grossa, although the stripes look more defined/uniform, and the legs look darker brown. This was the most commonly mistaken spider brought in to UC Riverside's etymologist.

Seamoose delivered the most lulz as of yet. 10 points!

Yeah, spiders are very often wrongly identified, and a lot of sickness and deaths that were attributed to spider bites are misdiagnosed (the Brown Recluse pics you see are often outright wrong, and if they aren't were left untreated for days, maybe even weeks for it to be that bad).

wow i google imaged camel spiders...damn

Camel Spiders are another species that's been heavily vilified. Even probably the two deadliest spiders, the Brazilian Wandering Spider and the Sydney Funnel Web aren't really that dangerous. I wouldn't want to encounter them though and they'd be ones that I'd go to a hospital immediately for as well if I were bitten.