#oecobiidae

[arachnophanatic]

I have a lot of love for the Oecobiids. They’re sooooo small! So stealthy! So ubiquitous!

[drhoz]

#1698 - Oecobius sp. - Wall Spider

One of hundreds occupying the front veranda wall at Yallingup. 

A genus of very small spiders that spin webs over crevices in rocks, on walls, and similar species. They use a specialised organ called a cribellum to seperate each strand of silk into many much finer strands as they emerge, to produce cribellate silk that entangles prey animals without requiring sticky droplets, by exploiting Van der Waals forces and strongly absorbing the waxes on an insects exoskeleton. 

Wall Spiders are found worldwide, and a few species are cosmopolitan or invasive. In at least one species, resident Wall Spiders won’t contest a web if another wall spider tries to move in, and will simply move out to start another. 

[arachnophanatic]

Wall spiders (genus Oecobius)

[arachnophanatic]

Do you guys know how small Oecobius maculatus is??

[arachnophanatic]

WALL SPIDER (Oecobiidae): Female Oecobius maculatus

[Click through for video of my first time seeing an Oecobiid hunt. Spoiler: they are fast]

Caught this happening while I was trying to watch a little spiderling (I think another Western black widow??) hunt from a new web on my flower box. Oebobiidae can be larger than this, but this one appears to be the same genus as the others I’ve found in the area, which even as adults are so small that they could spread out legs and all on the head of a thumbtack and have room left over. The species I think is Oecobius navus based on the specific hunting method of wrapping the prey in silk by running circles around it.

(And don’t worry, the baby widow got a gnat too. Took at least three tries but she got there eventually lol)

[pongwira]

Oecobiidae #oecobiidae #spider #arachnid #instaspider #naturelover #spiderofinstagram #naturephotography #macroworld #macrophotography #macro #macropicture #biodiversity