Long-Jawed Orbweaver
I found this elongated, leggy spider stretched along a plant stalk growing beside the road on July 27, 2012.
It’s a Long-Jawed Orbweaver, related to one that I posted rather blurrily back in 2009. In the closeup, we can see the jaws (chelicerae) that stick out of the front of the face are much longer than what we normally see in spiders.
And this next picture would have been a good face shot, if only that one front leg hadn’t been in the way.
Anyway, the long-jawed orbweavers of the genus Tetragnatha all have a similar build – long body, long legs, and long jaws.
The thing is, I have to take other people’s word for it that they weave orb webs. I have yet to see one in a web. Next time we catch one, I might have to put it into a box and let it spin a web to confirm what it actually looks like.
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Dude, those are some serious mandibles!
Aptly named, will be on the lookout for one.
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I have one in a web on my back porch right now. I have seen lots of them in webs. Thanks fir the great shots!