The Social House Spider

If you live in eastern Australia and you have a shed in your backyard, then you’ve probably come across the social house spider. Their large messy webs can cover an entire wall of a shed, and their weirdly shaped triangular abdomens make them easily identifiable. Unlike other spider species, you won’t find one or two social house spiders, you’ll find a whole colony all gathered together. That is what makes the social house spider so unique!

While most arachnids are solitary and will kill and eat rivals, the social house spider lives communally, ranging from a few individuals to hundreds of spiders living in interconnected webs. The spiders share resources and work together to maintain the web, catch prey, and sometimes care for their young collectively. They even work together to subdue large prey that would be too difficult for an individual spider to handle alone. They then share the meal among colony members, a behaviour that’s unusual in most spider species.

Juvenile social house spiders also tend to stay close to their parental web, gradually expanding the colony over time rather than dispersing widely. This leads to colonies that can persist in the same location for many years.

So next time you go out to the garden shed or find a collection of webs near your house, take a moment to look amongst the silk and see if there’s a social house spider colony. While these spiders have venom to subdue their prey, their venom is not dangerous to humans, and they are considered harmless. If you spot a colony, take a closer look—you’ll be witnessing one of nature’s most surprising collaborations and a unique arachnid social structures!