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Comb Footed Spider has a row of bristles like a tiny comb, on each hind leg.
The comb is so small you could only see it with a strong magnifying glass
and is used for spreading out the spider's silk so that prey caught in the
web can be quickly tied up into a "food parcel". It is not used for web
making so is different from the rake used by lace web making spiders.
Comb Footed spiders feed on flying insects. They are found in all
countries and throughout Australia. Most of them make a triangle or cobweb
of some kind which you could find almost anywhere.
The egg sacs are usually round, made of either fluffy or papery silk and
hung in the web or from a leaf. The young spiders may stay in the web with
the parent for some time.
There are many kinds of Comb Footed spiders and they all belong
to the same family. They are mainly small to medium sized spiders and most
have a pea shaped body and small cephalothorax, but a few are oval or long.
Common kinds of Comb Footed spiders found around houses are the Grey House
spider and the Red Back spider.
The Quicksilver or Dewdrop spider has a silver body. It does not
build a web but lives in the outskirts of the web of a larger spider such as
a Tent spider. It feeds on tiny insects the large spider overlooks. The egg
sacs are hung near the large web.
Information by Lachlan
Pictures used with permission from Ed Nieuwenhuys
htpp://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw
Information
and pictures were taken from children's projects and where credited to that
child does not claim to be original information. Where possible, permission
to reproduce has been sought. Any infringement of copyright is purely
unintentional.
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