Ariamnes colubrinus

Ariamnes colubrinus, known as the whip spider, is a common Australian spider belonging to the family Theridiidae.[1] It is found in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

Ariamnes colubrinus
Whip spider at Chatswood West, Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Theridiidae
Genus: Ariamnes
Species:
A. colubrinus
Binomial name
Ariamnes colubrinus
(Keyserling, 1890)
Synonyms

Argyrodes colubrinus

A small thin spider resembling a twig. Often found resting on one or two threads of silk. It eats wandering spiders, mostly juveniles (and some insects). The whip spider waits above the few strands of silk of its snare. When a small wandering spider hits the silk, this causes the whip spider to descend. The whip spider uses the "comb foot" of its end segment of the last pair of legs to wrap the meal in silk.[2]

Description and habit

Long and thin, the body length of males is 13 millimetres (0.51 in) and females is 22 mm (0.87 in). Body colour varies from cream, brown or greenish. Often found around a metre above the ground.

Egg sacs are 4 by 3 mm (0.16 by 0.12 in) in size, with a small lip on the base. The egg sac is suspended from a single strong thread. 40 to 50 yellow green eggs per sac, eggs 0.7 mm in diameter.[3]

References
  1. "Theridiidae". World Spider Catalogue.
  2. http://australianmuseum.net.au/Whip-Spider
  3. Australian Spiders in Colour - Ramon Mascord 1970 SBN 589 07065 7, page 62.
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