Hersilia sericea

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Common Long Spinnered Tree Spider
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Hersiliidae
Genus: Hersilia
Species:
H. sericea
Binomial name
Hersilia sericea
Pocock, 1898 [1]
Synonyms
  • Hersilia bicornisTucker, 1920
  • Hersilia hanströmiKauri, 1950

Hersilia sericea is a species of spider in the family Hersiliidae. [2] It is an African endemic and is commonly known as the Common Long Spinnered Tree Spider. [3]

Contents

Distribution

Hersilia sericea has a wide distribution across six African countries: Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, and South Africa. [2] In South Africa, the species is widely distributed across eight of the nine provinces at altitudes ranging from 4 to 1,471 m above sea level. [3]

Habitat

The species occurs in multiple biomes including Forest, Grassland, Nama Karoo, Savanna, and Thicket biomes. It has also been recorded from agricultural areas including avocado, citrus, grapefruit, and macadamia orchards, as well as urban environments. [3]

Description

Hersilia sericea is known from both sexes. Like other members of the genus Hersilia, it exhibits a flattened body form and extremely long posterior spinnerets. [3]

Ecology

This species is a free-living bark dweller found on various tree species. It does not appear to prefer specific tree species for habitation, although tree trunk size may influence habitat selection. Females construct flat, oval-shaped egg sacs on tree trunk surfaces, camouflaged with bark fragments. The female guards these eggs in an upside-down position until emergence. Females have been collected throughout the year, while males are found from April through December. Some specimens have been collected from walls in built-up areas. [3]

Conservation

Hersilia sericea is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its extensive distribution range. The species is protected in more than ten protected areas and faces no significant threats. [3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1898 from Estcourt in South Africa. Foord & Dippenaar-Schoeman (2006) synonymized Hersilia bicornisTucker, 1920 and Hersilia hanströmiKauri, 1950 with this species. [4]

References

  1. ↑ Pocock, R.I. (1898). "The Arachnida from the province of Natal, South Africa, contained in the collection of the British Museum". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 2 (9): 197–226. doi:10.1080/00222939808678036.
  2. 1 2 "Hersilia sericea Pocock, 1898". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2020). The Hersiliidae of South Africa. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 8–9. doi:10.5281/zenodo.5913607 . Retrieved 21 September 2025. Creative Commons by small.svg  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  4. ↑ Foord, S.H.; Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. (2006). "A revision of the Afrotropical species of Hersilia Audouin (Araneae: Hersiliidae)". Zootaxa. 1347: 1–92. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1347.1.1.
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