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Bolas Spider

uncommon

Bolas Spider

Mastophora hutchinsoni

Habitat
Shrubs and forest edges across temperate and subtropical North America
Body length
13 mm
Order
Araneae · Araneidae

Weird but real

She swings a single sticky glue-bead on a silk thread and reels in male moths lured by her fake pheromone perfume.

Why it's cool

An angler that fishes the night air with one baited line, perfumed to smell like a moth's date — pure chemical con artistry.

Photographs

Mastophora hutchinsoni ♀
Christina Butler from Georgia, United States · CC BY 2.0 · source
Patte antérieure de Mastophora mâle : coupe histologique transversale montrant des glandules intraépidermiques et leurs canalicules excréteurs.
LOPEZ André · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source