In some cases the spider vibrates the web of other spiders, mimicking the struggle of trapped prey to lure the host of the web closer. If the spider continues to feel harassed it will retreat into a corner or drop from its web and escape.Ĭertain species of these seemingly benign spiders invade webs of other spiders and eat the host, the eggs or the prey. Doing so might make it difficult for a predator to see exactly where the spider is, may be intended to signal an assumed rival to leave, or may increase the chances of capturing insects that have just brushed their web and are still hovering nearby. For this reason pholcids have sometimes been called "vibrating spiders", although they are not the only species to exhibit this behaviour. When the spider is threatened by a touch to the web or when too large a prey becomes entangled, the spider vibrates rapidly in a gyrating motion in its web and becomes blurred and difficult to focus on. The prey may be eaten immediately or stored for later. The spider quickly envelops its prey with silk and then inflicts the fatal bite. The web has no adhesive properties but the irregular structure traps insects, making escape difficult. However, Pholcids are also quite commonly found in warm, dry places, such as household windows and attics. These webs are constructed in dark and damp recesses, in caves, under rocks and loose bark, abandoned mammal burrows in undisturbed areas in buildings and cellars, hence the common name "cellar spiders". They hang inverted in messy, irregular, tangled webs. Pholcids are found in every continent in the world besides Antarctica where it is too cold for them to survive. The shape of the Pholcus and Smeringopus's body resembles that of a peanut. Pholcids are gray to brown with banding or chevron markings. Spermophora has a small globose abdomen and its eyes are arranged in two groups of three and no median eyes. Eight and six eyes both occur in this family. Pholcus and Smeringopus have cylindrical abdomens and the eyes are arranged in two lateral groups of three and two smaller median contiguous eyes. Pholcids are fragile arachnids, the body being 2–10 mm in length with legs which may be up to 50 mm long.
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