| Bird dropping spider | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female bird dropping spider with egg sacs | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Celaenia |
| Species: | C. excavata |
| Binomial name | |
| Celaenia excavata L. Koch, 1867 | |
Celaenia excavata, the bird dropping spider of Australia and New Zealand, derives its name from mimicking bird droppings to avoid predators, mainly birds.
The males are much smaller than the females, about 2.5 mm as opposed to 12 mm. The females have up to 13 egg sacs, with about 200 eggs each, strung together with strong threads. Their toxicity is unknown, but may be able to cause mild illness in humans.
Celaenia excavata is found throughout large parts of eastern and southern Australia and have also been recorded in central Australia; they are also seen in suburban gardens. [1]
The egg sacs of the bird-dropping spider are large, marbled brown coloured spheres, each about 12 mm in diameter and containing over 200 eggs. Up to 13 sacs are silked together in a group, beneath which the spider may be found awaiting prey. [1]
Its diet consists almost exclusively of male moths, which it hunts at night by mimicking the scent of female moths. [1]
The bird dropping spider stays motionless on its web during the day, only hunting for prey at night. It hangs down from a single silk thread and releases a pheromone which mimics the sex smells released by female moths. When a moth comes near, the spider will capture it with its powerful front legs.
Cheiracanthium inclusum, alternately known as the black-footed yellow sac spider or the American yellow sac spider, was formerly classified as a true sac spider, and then placed in the family Miturgidae, but now belongs to family Cheiracanthiidae. It is a rather small pale yellow species that is indigenous to the Americas. It is often found living in the foliage of forests and gardens but also can inhabit human homes. Despite common beliefs of necrosis, Cheiracanthium bites cause only localized swelling. C. inclusum is closely related to Cheiracanthium mildei, an introduced species native to Europe which is similar in appearance and natural history and can also be found in North American homes.
Austracantha is a genus of spider with a single species, Austracantha minax, commonly known as the jewel spider or the Christmas spider. It is a member of the family Araneidae and is endemic to Australia. They are relatively small spiders, reaching a maximum total body length of only around 12 mm (0.47 in) for females, and 5 mm (0.20 in) for males. Their abdomen has six distinctive projections ("spines") that makes them easy to identify. They are predominantly a shiny black, with variable white, yellow, and orange patterns. Melanistic forms also occur during autumn. They are facultatively gregarious, and can be found in large aggregations of overlapping orb webs. They feed on small flying insects that get entangled in their webs. They are harmless to humans, though the webs can be a nuisance for bushwalkers. They are most abundant during the summer months.
A bolas spider is a member of the orb-weaver spider that, instead of spinning a typical orb web, hunts by using one or more sticky "capture blobs" on the end of a silk line, known as a "bolas". By swinging the bolas at flying male moths or moth flies nearby, the spider may snag its prey rather like a fisherman snagging a fish on a hook. Because of this, they are also called angling or fishing spiders. The prey is lured to the spider by the production of up to three sex pheromone-analogues.
Argiope keyserlingi is a species of orb-web spider found on the east coast of Australia, from Victoria to northern Queensland. It is very similar in appearance to a closely related north Queensland species, Argiope aetherea. A. keyserlingi is commonly found in large populations in suburban parks and gardens, particularly among the leaves of Lomandra longifolia. Like many species of orb-web spider, A. keyserlingi shows considerable sexual dimorphism, as the females are many times larger than the males. Mature females can be seen during the summer, and seeing multiple males on the web of one female is not uncommon.
The black house spider or common black spider is a common species of cribellate Australian spider, introduced to New Zealand and Japan. A closely related species, Badumna longinqua, the grey house spider, has a similar distribution, but has also been introduced to the Americas.
Latrodectus hesperus, the western black widow spider or western widow, is a venomous spider species found in western regions of North America. The female's body is 14–16 mm in length and is black, often with an hourglass-shaped red mark on the lower abdomen. This "hourglass" mark can be yellow, and on rare occasions, white. The male of the species is around half this length and generally a tan color with lighter striping on the abdomen. The population was previously described as a subspecies of Latrodectus mactans and it is closely related to the northern species Latrodectus variolus. The species, as with others of the genus, build irregular or "messy" webs: unlike the spiral webs or the tunnel-shaped webs of other spiders, the strands of a Latrodectus web have no apparent organization.
Argiope aurantia is a species of spider, commonly known as the yellow garden spider, black and yellow garden spider, golden garden spider, writing spider, zigzag spider, zipper spider, black and yellow argiope, corn spider, Steeler spider, or McKinley spider. The species was first described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1833. It is common to the contiguous United States, Hawaii, southern Canada, Mexico, and Central America. It has distinctive yellow and black markings on the abdomen and a mostly white cephalothorax. Its scientific Latin name translates to "gilded silver-face". The body length of males range from 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in); females range from 19–28 mm (0.75–1.10 in). These spiders may bite if disturbed or harassed, but the venom is harmless to non-allergic humans, roughly equivalent to a bumblebee sting in intensity.
Phidippus audax, the bold jumper or bold jumping spider, is a common species of spider belonging to the genus Phidippus, a group of jumping spiders easily identified by their large eyes and their iridescent chelicerae. Like all jumping spiders, they have excellent stereoscopic vision that aids them in stalking prey and facilitates visual communication with potential mates during courting. Bold jumping spiders are native to North America and have been introduced to Hawaii, Nicobar Islands, Azores, and the Netherlands. They are typically black with a distinct white triangle on their abdomen.
Theridion grallator, also known as the Hawaiian happy-face spider, is a spider in the family Theridiidae that resides on the Hawaiian Islands. T. grallator gets its vernacular name of "Hawaiian happy-face spider" from the unique patterns superimposed on its abdomen, specifically those that resemble a human smiling face. T. grallator is particularly notable because of its wide range of polymorphisms that may be studied to allow a better understanding of evolutionary mechanisms. In addition to the variety of color polymorphisms present, T. grallator demonstrates the interesting quality of diet-induced color change, in which its appearance temporarily changes as it metabolizes various food items.
Ordgarius magnificus, the magnificent spider, is a bolas spider in the family Araneidae. It is endemic to forests along the Australian east coast.
Phonognatha graeffei, referred to as the leaf curling spider, is a common Australian spider found in woodlands and urban areas in the northeastern, eastern and southern states. A small member of the family Araneidae, the orb-weavers, it was previously placed in Tetragnathidae.
Diguetia is a genus of coneweb spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon in 1895. Members of this genus are six-eyed spiders that are either white or patterned. They are common in the southwestern United States and Mexico, and one species is found in Argentina. In the United States, species have been found in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. These spiders build a tubular retreat at the tip of their tent-like webs. Once an insect is caught in the web, the spider bites it and injects venom to stop its prey from moving, later wrapping it in silk. Both males and females use stridulation while mating, with females also stridulating when harassed. Two species of jumping spiders feed on its eggs. There are eleven Diguetia species.
Metepeira labyrinthea, the labyrinth orbweaver, is a spider, with thin legs and a round, bulbous abdomen It is a member of the genus Metepeira in the family Araneidae. The female’s length is 5.3 mm, its carapace 2.3 mm, abdomen 3.3 mm, and extended legs 18.4 mm. The carapace is brown or gray, and the abdomen is dark with a white pattern. The legs alternate pale brown and dark brown, and the sternum is dark brown with a longitudinal yellow mark. The male spider is three-quarters of the female’s length, or slightly larger, with a darker carapace and with greater contrast between dark and light areas of the legs. Metepeira are easily distinguished from other Araneidae by their light eye region, white median line on the sternum, relative length of the leg segments, small male palpus, weakly sclerotized epigyne and the special composite web.
Cyrtophora citricola, also known as the tropical tent-web spider, is an orb-weaver spider in the family Araneidae. It is found in Asia, Africa, Australia, Costa Rica, Hispaniola, Colombia, and Southern Europe and in 2000, it was discovered in Florida. C. citricola differs from many of its close relatives due its ability to live in a wide variety of environments. In North America and South America, the spider has caused extensive damage to agricultural operations.
Anelosimus eximius is a species of social spider in the genus Anelosimus, native to the Lesser Antilles and the area from Panama to Argentina. Colonies can comprise several thousand individuals.
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every land habitat. As of November 2023, 51,673 spider species in 136 families have been recorded by taxonomists. However, there has been debate among scientists about how families should be classified, with over 20 different classifications proposed since 1900.
Ariamnes colubrinus, known as the whip spider, is a common Australian spider belonging to the family Theridiidae. It is found in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
Tetragnatha versicolor is a species of long-jawed orb weaver in the spider family Tetragnathidae. It is found throughout North America, Canada, Central America, and Cuba, but are most common in the United States. T. versicolor is heavily concentrated in New England and the west coast in states like California and Washington. T. versicolor is considered a habitat generalist, and can thrive in many different environments. While they can be found in places like Grasslands, Wetlands, Forests, etc., they prefer dryer areas like normal trees and shrubs. Unlike other spiders in the genus Tetragnatha, T. versicolor will rarely reside near aquatic environments. T. versicolor will typically be colored dark yellow or pale orange and average around 5 mm for males and 6.5 mm for females in length, which is very small for a spider. They are much longer than they are wide, making them very distinct. In addition, T. versicolor can be distinguished from other spiders in Tetragnatha by the distinct separation of the anterior/posterior eyes and the appearance of their reproductive organs. As an orb weaver spider, T. versicolor creates a web to hunt for prey. It will wait at night for prey to stumble into its web and use vibrational signals throughout the web to sense trapped prey. In terms of mating behavior, T. versicolor lacks a distinct courting ritual and will mate with any others in the proximity. Mating behavior is heavily affected by female mating history. In terms of interactions with humans, the bite of T. versicolor is venomous, but not known to cause significant harm.
Mastophora hutchinsoni, also known as the American bolas spider, is a species of orb weaver in the genus Mastophora. The genus is distributed extensively throughout various subtropical geographical areas including Australia, South Africa, Oriental Asia, and the Americas and is not found in Europe. The hunting behavior of adult female M. hutchinsoni is unusual because they are bolas spiders. They mimic moth pheromones to attract male moths, and female M. hutchinsoni have evolved to alter their chemical release to target different moths. They then capture their prey with a sticky drop on the end of a silk line, resembling a bolas.
Cyrtarachninae is a subfamily of spiders in the family Araneidae. The group has been circumscribed in several different ways. It originated as the group Cyrtarachneae, described by Eugène Simon in 1892. The group was later treated at different ranks: as a tribe, both under Simon's name and as Cyrtarachnini, and as the subfamily Cyrtarachninae. Circumscriptions have varied. The broadest circumscription, Cyrtarachninae sensu lato (s.l.), includes three of Simon's original groups, including the bolas spiders. Unlike most araneids, members of the subfamily do not construct orb webs, some not using webs at all to capture prey, some using one or more sticky drops on a single line, while others construct webs with few widely spaced non-spiral threads, some triangular. Many have been shown to attract prey by producing analogues of insect sex pheromones, particularly to attract male moths. Adult females may mimic snails, bird droppings and other objects, and so are able to remain exposed during the day time, capturing prey at night.
