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Grey House Spider / Humped Spider

Zosis geniculatus

Description:

Found this in its web on the wall inside home. Zosis geniculatus is common and easy to recognise. As it is venomless it is a harmless method of controlling insects in your house. The abdomen in triangular in side view, humped in front with a pair of tubercles on the summit.The spider spins a horizontal or inclined orb-web. It creates a ragged blue grey circular web, with star shaped egg sacs. Insects trapped in the web are rolled with the hind legs and wrapped in silk. The bundle is eventually carried to the hub of the web and sucked dry.

Habitat:

Under bridges or in old garages and abandoned sheds. Found throughout the tropics.

Notes:

Uloborids and several related families have a cigar-shaped plate (cribellum) on the underside of the abdomen, in front of the spinnerets. The upper margin of the second last segment (metatarsus) of the fourth leg is armed with a row of strongly curved spines known collectively as the "calamistrum" (arrowed in diagram, right). It is through the combined action of the cribellum and calamistrum that the bluish silk characteristic of the Uloborids is produced. The front legs of the Uloborids are extraodinarily long, often longer than the entire length of the body. Unlike other spiders, Uloborids do not possess venom glands.

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13 Comments

Sumukha Javagal
Sumukha Javagal 11 years ago

Oh.. Thats bad..:-( Hope u find these in some other place..:-)

Jolly Ibañez
Jolly Ibañez 11 years ago

My area has been developed into a subdivision and a lot of trees have been destroyed.

Sumukha Javagal
Sumukha Javagal 11 years ago

Why so? Have they vanished all of a sudden? They are commonly found in old garages and abandoned buildings.

Jolly Ibañez
Jolly Ibañez 11 years ago

Very nice find. I was trying to look for those spiders I remember from my childhood but unfortunately I could not see them anymore.

Sumukha Javagal
Sumukha Javagal 11 years ago

Yeah..:-) This is the first time im finding such a spider..!

Jolly Ibañez
Jolly Ibañez 11 years ago

What a way to die. Maybe starvation and suffocation!

Sumukha Javagal
Sumukha Javagal 11 years ago

Yes. After the prey dies, then it starts to feed..!

Jolly Ibañez
Jolly Ibañez 11 years ago

So how does it immobilize its prey? Wrap in web?

Sumukha Javagal
Sumukha Javagal 11 years ago

Thanks Jolly..:-) The interesting thing about this spider is that, it doesn't contain any venom..!

Jolly Ibañez
Jolly Ibañez 11 years ago

Very neat spider. Nice shot

Sumukha Javagal
Sumukha Javagal 11 years ago

Thanks Luis..:-)

LuisStevens
LuisStevens 11 years ago

Beautiful shot Sumukha

Sumukha Javagal
Sumukha Javagal 11 years ago

Thanks for the ID Chunxingwong..:-)

Sumukha Javagal
Spotted by
Sumukha Javagal

Karnataka, India

Spotted on Jan 6, 2012
Submitted on Aug 10, 2012

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