Tag: CLUBIONIDAE

The leaf-curling sac spider, often appearing indoors as well in residential areas. They can be in various shades from yellow to greenish to a little reddish. Like their long-legged cousins, these sac spiders often get the brunt of dislike while being medically insignificant to humans.

CLUBIONA SP.

CLUBIONA SP.

by anikekirsten
Adult female Clubiona sp.

Taxon:

  • Class: Arachnida
  • Order: Araneae
  • Infra-Order: Araneamorph (true spiders)
  • Family: Clubionidae
  • Genus: Clubiona
  • Species: Clubiona sp.

Female

Around 5mm in body length. Leg span of approximately 10mm diagonally.

Cephalothorax:
Carapace long and reddish brown, dark in ocular region with dark chelicera. Sternum shield shape and reddish. Pedipalps reddish brown.

Abdomen:
Abdomen thin oval, tapered to spinnerets. Dorsal dark with 2 faint lighter lines anterior centre, posterior darker. Ventral pale, darker posterior with two faint darker lines centre.

Legs:
First 2 leg pairs thicker and slightly darker, reddish brown with darker metatarsi and tarsi. 4, 1, 2, 3.

Male

Unknown.

Adult female Clubiona sp.

ABOUT THE GENUS

These spiders are known as leaf-curling sac spiders, due to their habit of curling leaves together with silk to make their sac retreats. Another common name for them is the grass sac spider. They are prolific and found in every province in South Africa, usually in houses or orchards. This genus is also difficult to identify to species due to many of them looking the same and having variations, leaving only the genitalia differing to identify with.