Steatoda capensis
Cape Tangle-Web Spider (Steatoda capensis) Identification
An introduced comb-footed spider, Steatoda capensis, that makes a sticky tangled web in sheltered places and can resemble a redback or another cupboard spider.
Usually local pain; rare stronger symptomsThe Cape tangle-web spider, Steatoda capensis, is an introduced species in the comb-footed spider family, Theridiidae. It is most useful to recognise as a possible cupboard-spider-type tangle-web resident: a rounded, often dark or plum-brown abdomen, slender shiny legs and a messy sticky web in a sheltered, undisturbed place. Those clues do not prove the species. Adult Steatoda capensis, Steatoda grossa and redbacks can overlap in body shape, colour and household setting; accurate separation often needs clear adult anatomical characters. Treat a dark tangled web as a reason to photograph cautiously and compare, not as a licence to dismiss a possible redback.
Quick identification
- A small comb-footed spider with slender glossy legs, a small front body and a larger egg-shaped abdomen
- A dark brown, chocolate, plum or near-black abdomen; a pale front crescent, paired spots or a small pale or reddish rear dash can occur, but markings vary
- A messy, three-dimensional web with sticky catching threads in a dark sheltered site rather than a flat orb web
- A cupboard, garage, shed, beneath a pot, garden bench, timber, bark or stored-item setting that has been left undisturbed
- Accepted Australian Faunal Directory range limited to the ACT, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia; locality alone never confirms it
What to check next
Photograph from a distance: show the full web, the spider from above and below if safe, and the setting. A clear strong red or orange dorsal stripe, or a red-orange marking on the underside, should keep redback high on the comparison list; do not handle the spider to check. Conversely, the absence of a stripe does not prove Cape tangle-web spider because juveniles, other Steatoda and poorly lit redbacks can confuse a photo. Exact separation of adult S. capensis from S. grossa uses male palp or female epigynal characters, so call a household photo “Steatoda / cupboard spider” when those details are not visible.
When to seek medical help
Avoid handling. Most non-funnel-web bites cause local effects, but a documented S. capensis envenomation produced acute pain, swelling, redness and sweating and was managed clinically as redback envenomation. For a witnessed ordinary spider bite, wash with soap and water, apply a wrapped cold pack for pain or swelling, and seek medical advice promptly for severe or increasing pain, sweating, nausea, weakness, spreading symptoms, or symptoms that do not settle. Call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 for advice. Call 000 for breathing difficulty, collapse or anaphylaxis. If the spider could be a redback, follow redback-bite advice; if it is a big black funnel-web or mouse-spider-type animal, treat the bite as an emergency instead.
Where it is usually seen
Dark, dry, sheltered and undisturbed places around houses and gardens: cupboards, furniture, garages, sheds, stored items, compost bins, under benches, pots, timber, bark and similar cover. The web is a prey-catching snare, so shelter and insect traffic matter more than any one building type. Australian Museum guidance applies this household pattern to introduced Steatoda; a tangle web in that setting cannot by itself name S. capensis.