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Introduction:
Australia has about 9 species of Triangular Spiders, which ambush insects.The
Triangular Spiders Latin name is Arkys Lancearias. Its full size is
about the size of a twenty cent piece. The abdomen is small and flat. It
is shaped from a triangular shape to a heart shape with white circles. The
front legs are strong with spines. They also have spines sticking out
sideways on their head. They can be coloured red, orange, brown, black,
white and yellow.
Habitat: Triangular
Spiders live in gardens, trees, shrubs and on clothes lines. They are most
common in Summer. They live Australia wide in the warmer regions. They also
live in New Guinea. The most common Triangular Spider lives in the
rainforests, bushland and many different places such as leaves, seed heads
and flower spikes. They live in all eastern states and favour areas of
regrowth in the bush after bushfires, where thay can blend in with the
colours of the bark.
Prey: Triangular
Spiders feed on small insects such as grasshoppers, flies, caterpillars
and ants. They sit very still anchored by its hind legs. When anything
touches its front legs, they close like a pair of tongs.
Breeding: After the male
and female mate, the female can lay up to 50 eggs. The egg sac is a pale coloured silk ball about 7mm across which is hung on a stalk.
Venom: Triangular Spiders
have small fangs. They can only hurt small insects and are harmless to
humans. They can kill an insect in 13 seconds. If a human is bitten, they
will feel mild local pain for about 30 minutes; then it forms a red welt
which feels hot.
Steve Parrish's "Amazing Facts About Australian Insects
and Spiders"
Some information and pictures is 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. No ownership of pictures is claimed and any infringement of copyright of pictures and
information is purely unintentional. The use of such pictures and information is
purely for educational purposes.
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