Steatoda capensis

Steatoda capensis, female

Steatoda capensis is a web spider from the family of cobweb spiders ( Theridiidae ). It belongs to the genus of the fat spiders ( Steatoda ), but can easily with the spiders of the genus Latrodectus mactans ( Latrodectus ) are confused. It is less dangerous than the representatives of the Real widows, but their bite can also be quite painful. In New Zealand, it was often with the local Red Katipo ( Latrodectus Katipo ) or the black color variant confused and received the name Katipo False ( False Katipo ).

Description

The females reach a body length of about 9 millimeters, the males remain quite small. They are brilliantly colored black or dark brown. The legs of the females are brown to black in color, which are the male is light green or orange color with dark joints.

In size and shape it has similarities with the Katipo - species of the genus Latrodectus, some specimens of Steatoda capensis have a weak and red stripes on the abdomen. The Wrong Katipo differs from the Katipo species by the arrangement of the white markings on the abdomen and the weaker pronounced red stripes on the abdomen. In addition, absent in Steatoda capensis the hourglass drawing on the underside of the abdomen. The lateral eyes of Steatoda capensis touch or are less than the eye diameter apart, which are of Latrodectus Katipo an eye diameter apart. The egg cocoons of false Katipo appear somewhat fuzzy, messy and more open than the Red Katipo. Steatoda capensis plants in New Zealand throughout the year continued, Latrodectus Katipo only in the winter months.

Occurrence and habitat

The species is native to South Africa, but has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. It is often throughout South Africa and the most abundant species in and on houses. In New Zealand the wrong Katipo busy beaches on the same habitats as Latrodectus Katipo. Maybe they replaced Katipo L., among other things, due to their higher reproduction rate.

Way of life

The species feeds on small insects.

Taxonomy

Steatoda capensis was first described in 1903 as Teutana lepida of Octavius ​​Pickard - Cambridge, a British arachnologists. Since 1897 Pickard - Cambridge had a New Zealand spider from the family of cobweb spiders named Lithyphantes occupied lepidus. 1957 found Herbert Walter Levi that both Lithyphantes, as well Teutana, would be regarded as synonyms of the genus Steatoda. All types of these two species belong to the genus name so Steatoda. For Lithyphantes lepidus and Teutana lepida a conflict is found, because after renaming both types Steatoda lepida should have been hot. Since it was the kind described in more Lithyphantes lepidus, this was called the Steatoda lepida after the priority rule. For Teutana lepida SW Hann 1990 suggested the new name ( nomen novum ) Steatoda capensis, since the first specimen of this spider described had been found in Cape Town.