長腳蛛科Tetragnathidae
Tetragnathidae 肖蛸科
FAMILY TETRAGNATHIDAE - Stretch Spiders, Long-jawed Spiders,
Longjawed Orbweavers
The family Tetragnathidae is newly separated from the family
Araneidae. Members in this family also build orb webs, but a little
different from Araneidae. They build orb webs with open centre while
members in family Araneidae build orb webs with dense center. Their
webs are usually horizontally inclined in sunlit areas.
Species in this family are
elongate spiders with long chelicerae and legs. Unlike the spiders
in Araneidae family which first wrap their prey in silk after
capture and then bites it, spiders in family Tetragnathidae bite
first and then wrap.
Members of this family build delicate orb-webs with open hubs. The
webs are suspended horizontally or in an inclined plane.
Members of the species Tetragnatha are stick-like spiders with long
legs and well-developed jaws. The male jaws are particularly
elongated and are equipped with a spur each. These are instrumental
in locking the jaws of the female during mating. Most Tetragnatha
spiders appear superficially similar. They can, however, be
identified by examining the arrangement of teeth on the jaws.
These spiders weave delicate orb-webs to trap insects. Members of
this family vary greatly in size, and so also their webs. The webs
are inclined to various degrees and built at different levels under
the forest canopy. Some Leucauge species build theirs close to the
ground, while the webs of some Nephila species may be found hanging
from the lowest branch of a tree of medium height.
Long-jawed Orb Weavers
are named because of their large chelicerae (fangs), which are, in
some species, longer than the spider's cephalothorax.
long-jawed orb-weavers build circular grid webs but do not have as
many radii, or "spokes," as those of true orb weavers
Nocturnal. Often seen building or repairing its web at dusk.
Feeds on mosquitoes. In the daytime, the spider hides underneath
leaves or branches nearby. Eggs are laid in a brown woolly cocoon
fastened to the underside of a leaf.
Members of this family build delicate orb-webs with open hubs. The
webs are suspended horizontally or in an inclined plane.
Members of the species Tetragnatha are stick-like spiders with long
legs and well-developed jaws.
The male jaws are particularly elongated and are equipped with a
spur each. These are instrumental in locking the jaws of the female
during mating.
Most Tetragnatha spiders appear superficially similar. They can,
however, be identified by examining the arrangement of teeth on the
jaws.
