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Celaenia calotoides
Fact Box
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Species: |
Celaenia calotoides (identified from W.J. Rainbow's original description of this species)
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Body length: |
female: 6 mm
male: 3 mm
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Habitat: |
On surfaces of shrubs but usually at the end of its string of egg sacs which may be suspended from garden latticework
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Toxicity: |
Unknown but unlikely to cause illness in humans
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This spider has the general shape and resting posture of several other araneid genera, its legs being drawn up against its body to make
it very difficult to recognize as a spider. It spins a thin irregular web, especially around its egg sacs. It will sometimes be seen hanging
from a leaf by just a few threads, presumably because it follows the practice of Ordgarius magnificus and other
Celaenia species in feeding exclusively on moths which it attracts by secreting odours which mimic the moths' own pheromones.
Its egg sacs are brown papery spheres about 5 mm in diameter, joined together like a string of beads. They have a very prickly surface.
Known Range: Recorded as being in bush settings in Queensland and NSW.
Spider(s) with a very similar appearance: Celaenia distincta.
Email Ron Atkinson for more information.
Last updated 3 January 2022.
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