#hersiliidae

[onenicebugperday]

Two-tailed spider, Hersilia sp., Hersiliidae

Photographed in Singapore by Nicky Bay // Website // Facebook

Shared with permission; do not remove credit or re-post!

[crevicedwelling]

Hersilia sp. from Singapore, June 2023

these tree trunk dwellers are instantly recognizable by their curiously tiny 3rd legs and extremely long spinnerets, for which they’re known as two-tailed spiders. hersiliids ambush prey that wanders by, blanketing it in silk before delivering a killing bite. this one seems to have captured another large spider, while a strange gnat appears poised to sneak a few tiny mouthfuls of the prize

[ljsbugblog]

a nicely camoflaged Fickert's Tamopsis! A member of the 'Two-tailed' family Hersiliidae, named for their unusually long spinnerets.

Fickert's Tamopsis (Tamopsis fickerti), April '24.

[rattyexplores]

Collection of Two-tailed Spiders

Unidentified, genus Tamopsis

22/02/23

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Tamopsis sp. (Hersiliidae)

A two-tailed spider in South Australia.

Photographer: Panduka D. Amarasekara

[harbinger-of-the-end-times]

[drhoz]

#1261 - Tamopsis sp. - Two-tailed Spider

AKA Long-tailed Bark Spider. A fairly large Hersiliid spider, a few centimeters across, that was sunning himself on a metal pole at dawn, up at Cue. Incredibly conspicuous against the metal, which was not wise of the spider. Hersiliids are usually invisible on bark or stone, and surrounded by radiating silk triplines to alert them of wandering prey.

The family includes some 176 described species, with two in North America north of Mexico, both of them poorly studied: Neotama mexicana in extreme southern Texas and Yabisi habanensis in extreme southern Florida.

Hersiliids capture prey by holding their spinnerets over the prey and rapidly circling and swathing them with silk. Some hersiliids are known to live on tree trunks where they rest on silken mats, frequently camouflaged by mosses and lichens. Other species are known from stone fields, where they build irregular webs under rocks. Camouflaged egg sacs are attached to tree limbs or under rocks.

Cue

[rattyexplores]

Camouflaged Longspinneret Spider

Unidentified, family Hersiliidae

18/03/23