 | Cobweb Spider - Steatoda triangulosa Family: Theridiidae - Cobweb spiders Live female spiders and egg cases photographed indoors at Dupage County, Illinois. Insects & Spiders | Spider Pictures | Spider Index | Hymenoptera Index | Beetles Index | Butterflies |
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Cobweb spiders' webs disorganized, unlike the circular webs made by orb-weavers and other web-building spiders. Cobweb spiders have 8 eyes and 8 legs, 2 body parts, and fang-like mouthparts called chelicerae. Most cobweb spiders live for less than 1 year. At the end of the summer, female cobweb spiders produce a large amount of eggs that they wrap in an egg sac made of silk. Cobweb spiders undergo simple metamorphosis: all spiders' young hatch from eggs and look like tiny adults. They shed their skin as they grow. Common in North America, these little gals can be found almost anywhere there are weeds, fences, trees, walls, or other upright structures on which to build their webs. Cobweb spiders are predators, and they will eat almost anything that is small enough to get trapped in their webs. Like most web-building spiders, cobweb spiders tend to have poor vision - they don't need to see very well.
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Cobweb spiders are common in North America, and can be found almost anywhere that they can find weeds, fences, trees, walls, or other upright structures. Cobweb spiders are predators, and they will eat almost anything that is small enough to get trapped in their webs. Like most web-building spiders, cobweb spiders tend to have poor vision - they don't need to see very well because they can "feel" prey when it gets caught in their webs. Most cobweb spiders are considered beneficial to humans. They eat flies, mosquitoes, and other creatures. However, The black widow spider is a cobweb spider, and its bite can be dangerous. |
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