Achaearanea

Achaearanea is a genus of spiders in the Theridiidae (tangle web spider) family. This genus used to include the extremely abundant common house spider, which was transferred to genus Parasteatoda in 2006, together with many other species. A. veruculata and many more species were moved to genus Cryptachaea in 2008. Others were moved to the revived Henziectypus. The genus was thus reduced from about 150 species to about 22 species during major revisions. Possibly even more species should be transferred to other genera. This genus includes small and large theridiids. The legs are medium long, with spines and usually many hairs. Their web is an irregular network of threads, usually in a sheltered place. Species are found around the world, with several species from South America, China and Korea, India, Australia and Africa. Some species are endemic to several small islands.