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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynes » Sheetweb and Dwarf Spiders (Linyphiidae) » Sheetweb Spiders (Linyphiinae) » Drapetisca » Drapetisca alteranda
Photo#314156
Tree trunk hunter - Drapetisca alteranda
Copyright © 2009 Eric R. Eaton

Tree trunk hunter - Drapetisca alteranda
South Deerfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA
July 30, 2009
Ok, so it doesn't hunt tree trunks, it haunts them, waiting to ambush some unsuspecting bark louse or something. This spider was smaller than I expected, about the size of a Theridion, maybe slightly larger.
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Contributed by Eric R. Eaton on 2 August, 2009 - 8:07pm

Look Closely
You will see that some of the legs are not actually touching the tree trunk (compare legs II with their shadows). Drapetisca spins a sheet web very close to the surface of the tree. It's almost invisible. I believe this spider may be sitting in/on such a web.
… John Sloan, 25 August, 2009 - 12:45pm login or register to post comments

Nice!
Beautiful picture, Eric. :)
… John Sloan, 3 August, 2009 - 12:12am login or register to post comments

 
Thank you.
Thank you so much for the encouragement!
… Eric R. Eaton, 3 August, 2009 - 8:27am login or register to post comments

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