Stretch Spiders

Tetragnatha

Stretch Spiders are long and skinny spiders that love to hang out near water. They have super stretchy legs that help them catch food and move quickly!

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Stretch Spiders has very long, slender bodies and extremely thin legs, often held stretched out. They are typically drab colors like brown, green, or yellow, allowing them to blend seamlessly with vegetation. Their distinctive elongated form sets them apart from most other spiders.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumArthropodaClassArachnidaOrderAraneaeFamilyTetragnathidaeGenusTetragnatha

Stretch Spiders

Interesting facts

Baby Stretch Spiders often "balloon" through the air on silk threads to new homes.

Some species of Stretch Spiders can even walk on water using surface tension!

Their super long legs make them look like a twig, fooling hungry birds.

They are called "long-jawed orb weavers" because of their prominent mouthparts!

Special abilities

Stretch Spiders can extend their long bodies and legs to mimic twigs or grass stems, helping them hide from predators and prey.

Stretch Spiders can build delicate, horizontal orb webs near water, which helps them catch flying insects efficiently.

Stretch Spiders has incredibly long, flexible legs that allow them to quickly scuttle away or drop from their webs to escape danger.

Measurements & details

Size: 5-15 mm
Lifespan: 365-730 days
Leg Count: 8

Diet & Feeding

These spiders mostly eat small flying insects they catch in their sticky webs.

Primary Foods

flies
mosquitoes
midges
moths
small beetles

Foraging Method

Ambush

Ecological connections

hunts

House Fly

Musca domestica

Catches flies in its sticky orb web.

eaten by

House Sparrow

Passer domesticus

Birds often prey on spiders they find in vegetation.

parasitizes

Dewdrop Spider

Argyrodes trigonum

Steals trapped insects from the Stretch Spider's web.

Traits

Solitary

Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.

Web Builder

This trait characterizes organisms that construct elaborate silken webs for catching prey, shelter, or reproduction.

Camouflaged

Camouflaged describes organisms that possess coloring or patterns that allow them to blend into their environment.

Insectivorous

This trait identifies organisms whose diet primarily consists of insects and other small invertebrates.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.