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by Joseph K H Koh

	Twig-Like Feather-Legged Spider Miagrammopes sp.
	A female: ventral view Spiders of the genus Miagrammopes have a very flat carapace and have eight eyes arranged in two rows. Classification: Family Uloboridae, Feather-Legged Spiders. Habitat: Bushes near jungle fringes. Female: 7 mm. The first row may be poorly developed, thus giving the impression that they have only four eyes. Miagrammopes spiders do not spin orb-webs. Instead, they build a single-line snare which is fastened to a twig on one end and held taut by the first pair of legs at the other end. When an insect lands and hits the thread, the spider releases the line which springs back and entangles the insect. Uloborids and several related families have a cigar-shaped plate (cribellum) on the underside of the abdomen, in front of the spinnerets. The upper margin of the second last segment (metatarsus) of the fourth leg is armed with a row of strongly curved spines known collectively as the "calamistrum" (arrowed in diagram, right). It is through the combined action of the cribellum and calamistrum that the bluish silk characteristic of the Uloborids is produced. The front legs of the Uloborids are extraodinarily long, often longer than the entire length of the body. Unlike other spiders, Uloborids do not possess venom glands.
	From "A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders" by Joseph K. H. Koh BP Guide to Nature Series published by the Singapore Science Centre and sponsored by British Petroleum © 2000 Joseph K H Koh