Quick guide to the grass long bodied orb-web spiders (Araneae: Araneidae) in South Africa

Plant-living spiders have a range of characteristic adaptations that facilitate a life on and under bark, in grass, on flowers, among foliage or on see. As part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), all available information on spider species distribution in the South African Grassland Biome was compiled until the end of 2011 and 58 families, 275 genera and 792 described species have been recorded (Haddad et al., 2013). Grass dwellers are easily recognised by their elongated bodies and long, thin legs. They vary in colour from green to fawn and many are cryptically coloured with stripes along their length, imitating the veins in a blade of grass. They are especially difficult to detect while at rest, when the legs are held forward and parallel with the body. Grass dwellers typically tie twisted grass blades and grass seeds together with their silk threads to create a retreat or to deposit their egg sac (Dippenaar-Schoeman, 2023).