After removing some plants behind our houses, my neighbor Al and I found this spider scurrying along. What do you see that can be used to identify it?
- Pink/red streaks on its abdomen
- Dark line down the middle of its abdomen
- Black dots on the abdomen
- Dark line down the middle of the cephalothorax (that’s the segment that includes the spider’s head)
All of these markings are consistent with those of a Candy-stripe Spider, a type of Comb-footed Spider.
So what about this one? The markings are remarkably similar to the spider above, except that the abdomen is obviously a different color. Plus, there is another hint in this photo. According to Gardensafari.net:
The Comb-footed Spiders build an efficient web: it is small and contains a lot of wires. The upperside is firmly attached to a plant. The other sides are only just attached. An insect flying into the web will cause all sides to loosen, except for the top. The prey then dangles helplessly in the air and quickly gets more entangled by the wires.
Do you know what the insect caught in this web is? Check out this post if you need help. This insect appears to be dangling, just like the description above. There are many different kinds of comb-footed spiders (including the American House Spider and Black Widow)- I believe this is one of them.
[...] a comb-footed spider and her diabolical nest found in Mike’s backyard and documented with detail at Slugyard. But he wants to know: what’s for lunch, [...]
[...] House Spider, but is clearly something different. Exploring further, I believe it might be similar to the Candy Stripe Spider- check out the link. Candy Stripe Spiders are named for the pink stripes on their backs, but there are many different [...]