Kingdom Animalia Class Arachnida Suborder Araneomorphae Scientific name Argyrodes argentatus | Phylum Arthropoda Order Araneae Family Theridiidae Rank Species | |
Similar Argyrodes flavescens, Argyrodes, Argyrodes elevatus, Argyrodes kumadai, Argiope appensa | ||
Argyrodes argentatus is a kleptoparasitic spider.
Contents
In Singapore, it is often seen in webs of Nephila antipodiana.
On Guam it can often be found hanging in webs of the much larger spider Argiope appensa: while A. appensa can reach a total length of about 7 cm, A. argentatus females reach only 3mm, and males 2mm at the most.
Like in rats, following copulation the male seals the female's epigyne with a mating plug, preventing the female from further mating.
Distribution
It has been found in China, Japan, Guam, Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the East Indies (Singapore, New Guinea), and Hawaii.
Name
The species name argentatus means "silvery" in Latin.
References
Argyrodes argentatus Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA