Uloboridae
| Uloboridae | |
|---|---|
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|
| Uloborus plumipes | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: |
Uloboridae Thorell, 1869 |
| Diversity | |
| 18 genera, 262 species | |
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|
Uloboridae is a family of non-venomous spiders, known as cribellate orb weavers or hackled orb weavers. Their lack of venom glands is a secondarily evolved trait. Instead, they wrap their prey thoroughly in silk, cover it in regurgitated digestive enzymes and then ingest the liquified body.
All members of this family produce a feathery, fuzzy silk called cribellate (or hackled) silk. These spiders do not use an adhesive on their orb webs, but rather the very fine fibers on each strand of silk tend to ensnare prey. Uloboridae webs often have a stabilimentum or zig-zag pattern through the center.
This family has an almost worldwide distribution. There are only two species known from northern Europe: Uloborus walckenaerius and Hyptiotes paradoxus. Similarly occurring solely in northern North America (e.g. southern Ontario) is Uloborus glomosus.
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