Bug FAQBlack Purseweb Spider
Sphodros niger · Order: Araneae · Family: Atypidae
Also called: Black Purse-web Spider
Males are about 11 mm long, reaching 29 mm when the legs are spread. The spider’s body is black with chocolate-brown legs. It is listed as a species of special concern in Connecticut.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The body is black, while the legs are chocolate-brown.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is considered a special-concern species in Connecticut.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 29 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Tennessee.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I recognize a black purse-web spider?
Males are about 11 mm long (29 mm with legs extended) and have a black body with chocolate-brown legs.
Source: Wikipedia
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphodros_niger
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.