Nursery Web Spiders

Pisauridae

Classification

Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Pisauridae

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Pisauridae: //ˌpɪsɔˈrɪdiː//

These audio files are automatically generated. While they are not always 100% accurate, they are a good starting point.

Images

Dolomedes okefinokensis 109376554 by Court Harding. Used under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Dolomedes okefinokensis 41354967 by Arthur Windsor. Used under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Pisaurina mira 3 by Patrick Edwin Moran. Used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license.

Pisaurina mira (Pisauridae), with eggsac by Marshal Hedin. Used under a CC BY 2.0 license.

Dolomedes tenebrosus 1 PEM by wikipedia. Used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license.

Nursery Web Spider (Pisaurina mira) - geograph.org.uk - 3614881 by Peter Pearson . Used under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license.

Summary

Nursery web spiders (Pisauridae) are a family of araneomorph spiders known for building special nursery webs for their egg sacs. They are roaming hunters commonly found worldwide, with specific adaptations for their predatory lifestyle.

Physical Characteristics

Adult female specimens may reach up to 15 mm in length, excluding legs. Males have longer legs in relation to body size than females.

Identification Tips

Nursery web spiders resemble wolf spiders, but their key differences include the closer placement of the posterior lateral eyes to the posterior median eyes and the female carrying their egg sacs with their chelicerae instead of attaching them to their spinnerets.

Habitat

Species occur throughout the world except for extremely dry or cold environments; they are commonly found in areas with foliage and large leaves of bushes and other shorter plants.

Distribution

Common just about everywhere, with the exception of extremely dry or cold environments.

Diet

Roaming hunters that do not use webs for catching prey; they may catch prey on the surface of still bodies of water.

Life Cycle

Females build a nursery web to safeguard their egg sac until the eggs are ready to hatch. The egg sac is placed within the web, and the mother guards it.

Reproduction

Often, females attempt to eat the males after mating. Males may present a gift, such as a fly, to reduce this risk; sometimes, these gifts are fake and wrapped in silk to deceive the female.

Ecosystem Role

Predators in their environments, hunting various prey.

Evolution

The family was first described by Eugène Simon in 1890 and includes both modern and fossil genera.

Similar Taxa

Lycosidae (Wolf spiders)

Misconceptions

Some may confuse nursery web spiders with wolf spiders due to their similar appearance, overlooking key identification features.