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Bolas spider
Mastophora sp.
35.9021, -86.8826
Field Notes
Description:
The most awesomely bizarre spider I've ever found! This spider looked exactly like a bird dropping at first glance.
Bolas Spiders are unusual orb-weaver spiders that do not spin the typical web. Instead, they hunt by using a sticky 'capture blob' of silk on the end of a line, known as a 'bolas'. By swinging the bolas at flying male moths or moth flies nearby, the spider may snag its prey rather like a fisherman snagging a fish on a hook. Because of this, they are also called angling or fishing spider (although the remotely related genus Dolomedes is also called fishing spider). The prey is lured to the spider by the production of up to three pheromone-analogues.
Habitat:
Semi rural
Notes:
I'm pretty sure this is either Mastophora leucabulba or M. cornigera - can anyone confirm the species for me?
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