Ant spiders are members of the family Zodariidae. They are small to medium-sized eight-eyed spiders found in all tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa, Madagascar, Australia-New Guinea, New Zealand, Arabia and the Indian subcontinent. Most species are daytime hunters and live together with ants, mimicking their behavior and sometimes even their chemical traits. Although little is known about most zodariids, members of the genus Zodarion apparently feed only on ants; a number of other genera in the family are apparently also ant specialists.
Zodarion germanicum is a spider species of the family Zodariidae.
Zodarion is a genus of ant-eating spiders from the family Zodariidae. 169 species from Eurasia, North Africa and North America have been described as of November 2022.
Habronestes bradleyi is a spider species of the family Zodariidae.
Zodarion italicum is a European ant-eating spider. Like the closely related Z. hamatum, it is nocturnal and captures various ant species. Z. italicum seems to be specialized in Formicinae ants. Both species are generalized mimics of orange-dark brown ants, such as Lasius emarginatus.
Myrmica sabuleti is a species of ant in the genus Myrmica. The species is indigenous to Europe, and most colonies are polygynous. Caterpillars of the large blue butterfly parasitically prey on this ant. The caterpillar hatches on wild thyme buds and then at the fourth-instar stage tricks the ants into believing it is one of their own larvae. The worker ants then carry the caterpillar to their nest, where it feeds on the ant grubs for 10 months before pupating and emerging as a butterfly.
Zodarion abantense is a species of spider found in Greece.
Zodarion abantense is a species of ant spider found in mainland Portugal and the Azores islands.
Zodarion aurorae is a species of ant-eating spiders native to Romania.
Zodarion beticum is a spider species found in Spain.
Zodarion couseransense is a species of spider in the family Zodariidae, found in France.
Zodarion elegans is a spider species found in Southern Europe and North Africa.
Zodarion graecum is a spider species found in Eastern Europe, Lebanon and Israel.
Zodarion hamatum is a spider species found in Italy, Austria and Slovenia.
Zodarion hauseri is a spider species found in Greece and Bulgaria.
Zodarion machadoi is an ant spider species found in Spain, mainland Portugal and the Azores islands.
Zodarion styliferum is a spider species found in Portugal, Spain and Madeira.
Zodarion thoni is a spider species found in Eastern Europe to Azerbaijan.
Ekaterina Mikhailovna Andreeva also known as Katarzyna Andrejewa-Prószyńska was an Uzbek arachnologist. She collected spiders in Central Asia and later published Spiders of Tajikistan. At least eight spider and harvestman taxa were named in her honor.
Zodarion wesolowskae is a species of ant spider in the genus Zodarion that lives in Morocco. The species was first described in 2020 by Souâd Benhalima and Robert Bosmans. Only the male has been described, although Benhalima and Bosmans suggest that the female could be one of the spiders described as Zodarion trianguliferum. The spider is small, typically 3.4 mm (0.13 in) long, with a plain brown to dark brown carapace and a black abdomen which has faint white stripes. The spider is a member of the mostafai group within the genus, which lack a tooth at the end of the embolus. It can be further distinguished from other members of the genus by its very long and thin tibial apophysis. The genus Zodarion is known to use ant mimicry for both defence against predators and to deceive ants to prey on them. This attribute could be used as a form of biological pest control.
