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Spider Photos -
Red Spotted Ant Mimic SPider |
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Members of the genus Castianeira are considered mimics of large ants, such as carpenter ants, and mutillid
wasps, which are known as “velvet ants.” These spiders walk about slowly the way ants do and then
only move fast when disturbed. Castianeira descripta,
the red spotted ant mimic spider only walks with six legs, like an ant. As
they walk, their front two legs are raised in the air and quiver quickly up and down like antennae.
They also quiver them briefly after they stop walking.
They do this to emulate ant antennae and spiders
that imitate ant antennae frequently have conspicuous front
legs. It is a characteristic of C. descripta that her front four legs are somewhat transparent and
not jet black like the rest of her. Looking at them
makes you think more of a wasp than an ant, and perhaps
that transparency might also be mimicking wasp wings. Wasps often give their wings a quick shimmy upon landing, just as
C. descripta gives her transparent front two legs a quick shimmy when she stops moving. Here's some photos sent in by
viewers. All photos are copyright to their
owners and may not be reproduced without permission.
Please choose a
section.
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21 May, 2010:
I initially thought it was a typical Houston, TX jumping spider until after I smacked it with a notepad. I noticed it was very black with that red stripe on its back. It seemed to be hairy/bulky, not the exoskeletal, shiny black you see with black widows or redbacks on the web... |
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3 August, 2009:
Hello,
Can you help me identify this spider?
I found it in the basement of my home in a suburb of St. Paul Minnesota
about 4 days ago.
It measures about 1/2 inch from the tip of the front leg to the back
leg...about as long as my thumbnail.
What I really want to know is if this is some kind of Black Widow and/or a
dangerous spider. I know Black Widows are not native to this climate, but
it looks so unlike anything I've ever seen in MN before, and I've heard
stories about exotic spiders traveling with food shipments. This spider is
currently alive and captured under a drinking glass. Can't decide whether
to kill it, set it free or take it somewhere for identification.
Thank you!
Cory |
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17 May, 2009:
Hello,
Could you ID the spider? About 1 to 1.5 inch long.
Thanks.
Richard
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11 October, 2008:
Hello,
I found this Spider inside my Home in (central) Texas.
I hope i made a good enough picture.
On the belly side it has 2 red point ,left and right and underneath in the middle of those a little white dot.
it has this red streak on its back.
it has those partial brown front legs.
Not sure if that will help,it run very fast and got very aggressive in the glass(who would`t).
The only black and red spider I know is the black widow,and that's just what the pest control and animal control said when they saw it,we all not sure what it is.
i hope you can bring some closure in identifying this spider.
Questions i have are is it a black widow,what is it ,is it venomous?
couple weeks back i saw two tiny baby spider ,there were all black,not sure if there is a conection.
Thank you so much in advance
Ivonne |
Reply: This is Castianeira descripta, the red spotted ant-mimic
spider.
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Reply: As per the posts lower on this page, that is a
Castianeira descripta ant-mimic
spider.
20 July, 2008:
Hi Glen,
I love your spider website!
I am a lifelong spider enthusiast and am usually good at tracking down what family a spider is in, however I was utterly flummoxed today when I saw this spider in the shower. It's body was about 1/4 inch. I live in central Arizona near Phoenix. Any ideas?
Thanks so much,
Terry |
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Reply: This is Castianeira descripta ant-mimic
spider.
14
June, 2008:
Hope you can help me! Thanks so much! |
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Reply: As per the posts lower on this page, that is a
Castianeira descripta ant-mimic
spider. Nathan
13 July, 2006:
It was in the house at night. My son saw it crawling along the floor. We
live in Schertz, TX (near San Antonio). Thanks. attachment contains pics< G. Jackson
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Reply: This is another red spotted ant
mimicking spider, Castianeira descripta
5 May, 2006:
I found this nasty thing on my wall. I saw on your website
something similar but the on your website but is slightly
different. I’ve done a major web search but I’m just not
sure. We just moved here and I’m worried about my 5 yr. old
and little puppy. I’m hoping you can enlighten me in
identifying this. Thanks, Pamela
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Reply: The
red-striped spider sent in on May 5th is an red spotted ant
mimicking spider, Castianeira descripta
Brian
5 May, 2006:
I found 2 of these spiders in my home this week and I'm
concerned they are Australian redbacks. Please help identify if
you can.
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