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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynae » Running Crab Spiders (Philodromidae) » Rhysodromus » Rhysodromus alascensis
Photo#229883
Cairn-building Spider - Rhysodromus alascensis
Copyright © 2008 Stephen Hart

Cairn-building Spider - Rhysodromus alascensis
Blue Mountain/Deer Park, Olympic National Park, Clallam County, Washington, USA
September 29, 2008
Close to the location of the image set referenced in the thumbnail below, I found the above spider on a cairn:

Images of this individual: tag all
Cairn-building Spider - Rhysodromus alascensis Cairn-building Spider - Rhysodromus alascensis Cairn-building Spider - Rhysodromus alascensis
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Contributed by Stephen Hart on 29 September, 2008 - 7:24pm
Last updated 5 July, 2009 - 11:48pm

Moved
Moved from Spiders.
… Lynette Elliott, 5 July, 2009 - 11:49pm login or register to post comments

From Rod Crawford:
The spider is Philodromus alascensis, but it probably doesn't have
anything to do with the "cairns."
… Lynette Elliott, 5 July, 2009 - 11:48pm login or register to post comments

 
Or does it?
Mighty strange coincidence, if not:
… Charley Eiseman, 1 October, 2011 - 9:29pm login or register to post comments

 
Reference and many images
I found a reference for the cairn-building behavior
“At least one species, Philodromus alascensis, places its egg sac in a small, rocky recess, where it is covered with grains of sand, wood flakes, and other debris.”

Field Guide to the Spiders of California and the Pacific Coast States
Text by R. J. Adams Illustrations by Tim D. Manolis”
University of California Press 2014

Rhysodromus alascensis on Olympic Natural History, 45 slides
… Stephen Hart, 7 June, 2018 - 6:33pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks
Thanks Rod and Lynette.

Coincidentally, I just yesterday photographed a spider that looks quite like this one. I'll post a couple of photos later.

The cairns remain a mystery. I haven't seen any yet this year, but hope to collect a cairn and rear out the eggs.
… Stephen Hart, 6 July, 2009 - 8:49am login or register to post comments

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