Tree trunk spiders belong to the Family Hersiliidae. There are about 150 species in this family and many more undiscovered. .
Female Tree Spiders are around 19mm in body length from its chelicerae to the tip of its spinnerets. When her legs stretched out, its longest legs can reach 45mm.
They range in size from about 10 mm (0.4 inch) to 18 mm (0.7 inch)long including the “Tails”
Tree spiders are beautiful with multicolor pattern that helps them in camouflaging against the tree trunks they live on.
Being very well camouflaged for life on the varicolored trunks of trees, they have an interesting way of capturing prey. Rather than making a web that captures prey directly, they lay a light coating of threads over an area of tree bark and wait hidden in plain sight for an insect to stray onto that patch.
Once that occurs, they direct their spinnerets toward their prey and circle it all the while casting silk on it. When the hapless insect has been thoroughly immobilized they can bite it through its new shroud.
are tree trunk spiders poisonous
The tree trunk spider is generally a harmless spider and thus is most unlikely to cause significant harm.
Tree trunk spiders (Hersiliidae) is a tropical and semi-tropical family first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1870. They have two prominent spinnerets that are almost as long as their abdomen, earning them the nickname “two-tailed spiders”. They range in size from 10 to 18 millimetres (0.39 to 0.71 in) long. Rather than using a web that captures prey directly, they lay a light coating of threads over an area of tree bark and wait for an insect to stray onto the patch. When this happens, they encircle their spinnerets around their prey while casting silk on it. When the insect is immobilized, they can bite it through the shroud.
