Spiders

Hersiliidae

Two-tailed Spiders

Tambopata, Peru - December 2008

The 150 members of this family are easily recognised by their excessively long spinnerets which may be as long as the abdomen. They are generally very well camouflaged and catch their prey by laying a network of silk lines over the trunk of a tree. When the spider detects an insect crossing its network, it points its spinnerets at the insects and, whilst circling its victim, fires a stream of sticky silk over it.