Wandering House Cobweaver

Parasteatoda tabulata · Order: Araneae · Family: Theridiidae

Also called: Comb-footed spider

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Wandering House Cobweaver
Photo: Ilona, CC BY-SA

The wandering house cobweaver comes from tropical parts of Asia.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

It has spread beyond its original range to North America, Europe, and temperate Asian nations like China, Korea, and Japan.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its original habitat is tropical Asia.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 18 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Maine, Indiana, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: introduced in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Wandering House Cobweaver photo 2
Photo: earl woolsey, CC BY
Wandering House Cobweaver photo 3
Photo: toad-wife, CC BY
Wandering House Cobweaver photo 4
Photo: earl woolsey, CC BY
Wandering House Cobweaver photo 5
Photo: earl woolsey, CC BY

Same family (Theridiidae)

Triangulate CombfootTriangulate CombfootSteatoda triangulosaCan biteFalse Black WidowFalse Black WidowSteatoda grossaCan biteCommon House SpiderCommon House SpiderParasteatoda tepidariorumCan biteWestern Black WidowWestern Black WidowLatrodectus hesperusVenomousBrown WidowBrown WidowLatrodectus geometricusCan biteSouthern Black WidowSouthern Black WidowLatrodectus mactansVenomous

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasteatoda_tabulata

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.