Nursery Web Spider

Description:

Nursery web spiders have bodies similar to those of other spiders. They have a combined head and thorax region called the cephalothorax, and an unsegmented abdomen region. The cephalothorax and the abdomen are joined by the pedicel, which is narrow and allows for flexibility. The cephalothorax has a hard covering called the carapace for protection. The abdomen is usually sac-like and contains the heart, midgut, silk glands, respiratory and reproductive systems. Spiders also have six pairs of appendages: eight legs, two palps (the male's palps bearing a copulatory organ) and a pair of jaws (chelicerae). Male nursery web spiders are 9 to 15 mm long and the females are usually 12 to 15 mm long. Both males and females are yellowish-brown in color and sometimes have a light to dark brown band down the middle of the back. A narrow white border is present around the abdomen. These large spiders greatly resemble wolf spiders and are usually mistaken for them. Nursery web spiders have eight eyes which are arranged in two rows. The front row has a straight line of four eyes, and the back row has the remaining four eyes in a U shape. There are three claws on each tarsus (part of an arthropod leg immediately distal to the tibia, usually divided into a number of segments or tarsomer

Habitat:

Nursery web spiders inhabit fields, meadows, and woods. Pisaurina mira also likes to live in tall grass, shrubs, and bushes. Some are even found in houses. Nursery web spiders like tropical areas