Achaearanea tepidariorum

American House Spider

Identification:
The larger female (5-6 mm) usually sits upside down in the center of her web. Occasionally a smaller (3.8-4.7 mm) orange-red male can also be found on upsidedown on the same web a few inches away

Habitat:
This is an very common spider in and around homes and barns. I have found it most often in the interior side of exterior window and door frames

Behavior:
Females will remain in the same web their entire lives if undisturbed. In an non-insulated Madison, Wisconsin breezeway females have survived on their webs through the winter. Females are often found beside their large (6-9 mm) papery egg sacs. I have seen males remain on the web with the females for several weeks at a time. However, they do seem to disappear for days to weeks and either return or are replaced by another male.

References

Wikipedia Common House Spider

The World Spider Catalog, Version 6.5
American Museum of Natural History
by Norman I. Platnick
Edited by Peter Merrett, H. Don Cameron

Nearctic Spiders Database
David Shorthouse

Spiders of North America: an identification manual
Edited by Darrell Ubick, Pierre Paquin, Paula E. Cushing, and Vince Roth

The American Arachnological Society

The International Society of Arachnology

Arachnology Home Page