Ceiling Runner
After a slow trip home from a day of volleyball, twenty five miles and three inches of new snow, we arrived home after dark. Turning the lights on I catch sight of a small black spider with a white stripe on the living room ceiling. Then I do what all good housekeepers do, I captured it alive, took a few photos, and released it back to the wilds of our living room.
A Parson Spider, a common and recognizable inhabitant in our home, though I have on several occasions encountered it outdoors also. Both its common name and scientific name derive from the shape of the light-colored stripe on its abdomen resembles the fancy necktie, a cravat, worn by eighteenth century clergy.
In its natural habitat this species hides beneath stones and logs. When encountered indoors this ground spider transforms into a notably ceiling runner, a contrarian of sorts. But then, who’s to say they don’t race along upside down on those low ceilings, the underbellies of stones and logs.
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