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    Palystes Castaneus

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    Palystes castaneus is a species of huntsman spider found in South Africa. It constructs large egg sacs that it aggressively guards. It is also commonly preyed upon by wasps which paralyze the spiders and use them to feed their young.

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    Palystes Castaneus

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    157 views3 pages
    Palystes castaneus is a species of huntsman spider found in South Africa. It constructs large egg sacs that it aggressively guards. It is also commonly preyed upon by wasps which paralyze the spiders and use them to feed their young.

    Original Description:

    Rain Spider

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    Palystes castaneus is a species of huntsman spider found in South Africa. It constructs large egg sacs that it aggressively guards. It is also commonly preyed upon by wasps which paralyze the spiders and use them to feed their young.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    157 views3 pages

    Palystes Castaneus

    Uploaded by

    LDW
    Palystes castaneus is a species of huntsman spider found in South Africa. It constructs large egg sacs that it aggressively guards. It is also commonly preyed upon by wasps which paralyze the spiders and use them to feed their young.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Palystes castaneus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    1 of 3

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palystes_castaneus

    Palystes castaneus
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Palystes castaneus is a species of huntsman spider found in South


    Africa.[1] It is common from Cape Town to Heidelberg, Western
    Cape, especially in forested areas. In scrub outside forested areas, it
    is replaced by Palystes superciliosus. It occurs mainly on plants,
    where it hunts insects. It has a body length of 1722 mm.[2] P.
    castaneus is the type species for the Palystes genus, and was first
    described by Pierre Andr Latreille in 1819.[1]
    Spiders in the Palystes genus are commonly called rain spiders, or
    lizard-eating spiders.[3] P. castaneus often appears in the home just
    before the onset of rain, where they hunt geckos (usually Afrogecko
    porphyreus). Males are regularly seen from August to December,
    probably looking for females.[2]
    After mating in the early
    summer, the female
    constructs a round egg sac
    about 60100 mm in size
    made of silk, with twigs and
    leaves woven into it. These
    egg sacs are commonly seen
    from about November to
    April. The female constructs
    the sac over 35 hours, then
    aggressively guards it until
    the spiderlings, who hatch
    inside the protective sac,
    chew their way out about
    three weeks later. Many
    gardeners are bitten by
    protective Palystes mothers
    P. castaneus egg sac
    during this period. Females
    will construct about three of
    these egg sacs over their two year lives.[2]
    P. castaneus (and other Palystes spiders) are also commonly seen
    paralysed, being dragged by a large wasp called a Pompilid wasp.
    Sometimes the wasp will not be present. Pompilid wasps only hunt
    spiders, which they paralyse by stinging them. They then drag the
    spider back to their nest where they lay an egg on the spider, then
    seal the spider and the egg in. When the egg hatches, the larva eats
    the paralysed spider, keeping the spider alive as long as possible by
    eating peripheral flesh first, and saving the vital organs till last. By
    doing this, the spider stays fresh long enough for the wasp larva to
    mature and pupate.[3] The Pompilid wasp species Tachypompilus
    ignitus is at least largely a specialist hunter of mature Palystes
    females.[4]

    Palystes castaneus

    Female Palystes castaneus

    Scientific classification
    Kingdom:

    Animalia

    Phylum:

    Arthropoda

    Class:

    Arachnida

    Order:

    Araneae

    Section:

    Entelegynae

    Family:

    Sparassidae

    Genus:

    Palystes

    Species:

    P. castaneus
    Binomial name

    Palystes castaneus
    Latreille, 1819

    Synonyms
    Ocypete melanogaster
    Ocypete nobilis
    Olios castaneus
    Olios fuscus
    Olios melanogaster
    Palystes chaperi
    Palystes frenatus
    Thomisus castaneus

    2015/02/24 12:13 PM

    Palystes castaneus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    2 of 3

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palystes_castaneus

    Gallery

    Female P. castaneus

    Female P. castaneus

    Tachypompilus ignitus dragging


    Palystes prey (not P. castaneus) up a
    wall

    Female P. castaneus

    References
    1. ^ a b Platnick, Norman I. (10 December 2011). "Fam. Sparassidae" (http://research.amnh.org/iz/spiders/catalog
    /SPARASSIDAE.html). The World Spider Catalog, Version 12.5. New York, NY, USA: American Museum of
    Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.iz.0001 (https://dx.doi.org/10.5531%2Fdb.iz.0001). Retrieved 16 April 2012.
    2. ^ a b c Larsen, Norman. "Palystes castaneus" (http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/arachnids/spiders/sparassidae
    /palystes_castaneus.htm). Biodiversity Explorer. Cape Town, South Africa: Iziko museums. Retrieved 16 April
    2012.
    3. ^ a b Larsen, Norman. "Palystes" (http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/arachnids/spiders/sparassidae
    /palystes.htm). Biodiversity Explorer. Cape Town, South Africa: Iziko museums. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
    4. ^ Picker, Mike; Griffiths, Charles; Weaving, Alan (2004). Field Guide to Insects of South Africa (Updated ed.).
    Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. p. 402. ISBN 978-1-77007-061-5. OCLC 56338396 (https://www.worldcat.org
    /oclc/56338396).

    External links
    Palystes castaneus (http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/arachnids/spiders/sparassidae
    /palystes_castaneus.htm) on Iziko Museums' Biodivesity Explorer

    Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org


    /w/index.php?title=Palystes_castaneus&oldid=636116596"

    Wikimedia Commons has


    media related to Palystes
    castaneus.

    Categories: Sparassidae Animals described in 1819

    2015/02/24 12:13 PM

    Palystes castaneus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    3 of 3

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palystes_castaneus

    This page was last modified on 1 December 2014, at 03:09.


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    2015/02/24 12:13 PM

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