Dysderid Spiders – Dysderidae

Dysderid Spider   Family: Dysderidae Common Name: Woodlouse spider, Slater spider, Woodlouse hunter. Appearance: Dysderid spider has eight legs, out of which two are rounded, the spider has six eyes, and has red, orange, or brown cephalothorax. These have prominent fangs that they use for hunting. The size of the female spider is more prominent than males; males are 0.3 to 0,4 inches long while females have a length of 0.4 to 0.5 inches. Their weight is less than one ounce. Host Plants or Food: Dysderid spiders commonly feed on pill bugs, sow bugs, woodlice, beetles, and millipedes Territory: North America, Australia, Asia, South America, Africa, Europe Mode of Damage: They don’t harm the plants and feed on beetles, woodlice, pill bugs, so they are beneficial garden insects. Habits and Life History: Dysderid spiders are usually found in warm habitats in rotten leaves. And they communicate by releasing chemical signals, and other spiders pick these signals. They do not rely on webs to catch prey and hunt at night. They can be found in higher concentrations where woodlice are present. And they can jump higher when defending against attackers. Adult female deposits the eggs on the surface contaminated with isopod secretions, egg hatches, and 1st instar larva stands up with anterior end forward and to the slides. 1st instar larva enters through the intersegment membrane of the freshly molted host, and the larva feeds on hemolymph The adult emerges from the pupa, and the cycle repeats.