Red House Spider

Feeding and ecological relationships

The red house spider is a predatory cobweb spider. A species-specific experiment measured its ability to capture houseflies and tested how refuges for the flies altered capture rates. The study illustrates why prey abundance alone is not enough to predict feeding: the structure of the surrounding habitat also changes access to prey.

Limits of the evidence

Houseflies used in an experiment are confirmed prey under those conditions, not evidence that houseflies dominate its diet on Kauaʻi. The local source establishes occurrence; prey composition, egg production, juvenile survival, and population effects on the island remain separate research questions.

Kauaʻi occurrence and evidence

Atlas occurrence category: Present. The Kauaʻi record is classified as “Present”. Its cited evidence source is iNaturalist Kauaʻi checklist.

Account coverage

Published species details have been added. A complete Kauaʻi-specific account of identification, habitat, feeding, reproduction, and population trend is not yet established by the sources linked here.

Names and classification

Scientific name

Nesticodes rufipes

Common names

Red House Spider

Family

Theridiidae

Order

Araneae

Record type

species

Kauaʻi occurrence and status

Kauaʻi occurrence

Present

Origin

Introduced

Conservation status

Not assessed

Process and seasonal context

Seasonal description

Red House Spider (Nesticodes rufipes) belongs to Theridiidae in the order Araneae. Its recorded origin status is introduced.

Sources and further reading

• iNaturalist Kauaʻi checklist
• Feeding and ecological relationships — species source