Yellow sac spider
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{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Yellow sac spider | image = yellowsacspider.jpg | image_width = 200px | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Arthropoda | classis = Arachnida | ordo = Araneae | familia = Miturgidae | genus = Cheiracanthium | species = C. inclusum | binomial = Cheiracanthium inclusum | binomial_authority = Hentz, 1847 }}
The Yellow sac spider (Cheiracanthium inclusum and Chiracanthium mildei) is not a true sac spider (of the family Clubionidae), but a long-legged sac spider, that is, a member of the family Miturgidae that was formerly classified in that group. It is one of a handful of spiders in North America whose bites are generally considered to be medically significant.
It is a rather small pale yellow spider, found in most of North, Central and South America. It takes shelter in flattened silk tubes during the day and move about to hunt during the night. It often lives in houses and can frequently be found crawling upon walls or other vertical surfaces. The bite of these spiders is toxic to humans but rarely produce more than local symptoms. They are believed to produce a high percentage of the spider bites suffered by people, possibly because they wander about when people cannot see well or are asleep, and so they may get squeezed and bite to protect themselves. Bites that occur to farm laborers may occur because spiders hiding in their shelters on leaves may get squeezed.
It has been noted that a large number of bites attributed to the Brown recluse spider are actually the work of yellow sac spiders, which possess a cytotoxic venom (which can cause necrosis) similar to that of the brown recluse, although the resulting symptoms are usually less severe.
Ventral view
 Cheiracanthium inclusum(?). Troublesome symptoms; not known to be fatal. Body length 8 mm. Even though this specimen has lost some legs, it still moves quite rapidly. |
