OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Amaurobius ("living in the dark") ferox ("ferocius")
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| Adult female Black Lace-weaver (Amaurobius ferox) at Geddington Northants - March 2025 |
Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: ? / Length: 8-16mm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated
A rather stocky spider for its size, the Black Lace-weaver gets its name from its somewhat unusual silk - its silk has a woolly texture with a faint blue colour that is exceptionally sticky. They spin this using an organ called the cribellum rather than the more famous spinarets, though they also possess these - they are more used for protecting "trophic eggs" ie eggs laid purely for the offspring to eat. This species is also notable for its unusual parenting methods - the mother breaks the eggsack of the spiderlings and lays the trophic eggs for them to feed upon, the mother that allows herself to be cannibalised.
Related Species:
Order: Araneae
Family: Amaurobiidae
Genus: Amaurobius
SUBSPECIES: ?
- Sighting Locations -
Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto
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