HOME Spiders on this site

by Joseph K H Koh

	Pale Daddy-Long-Leg Smeringopus pallidus (Blackwall) 1858
	Female Pholcids are long-legged spiders which construct loose tangled webs. Eggs are held together by a few strands of silk and carried by the mother. They have six or eight eyes. Where eight eyes are present, the anterior median pair is small while the rest are set in two groups of three. The jaws are fused at the base. Classification: Family Pholcidae, Daddy-Long-Leg Spiders. Habitat: Dusty and dark corners of the house. Under covered drains. On mud walls in gardens and countryside. Female: 6-7 mm. Male: 5 mm. Distribution: Throughout the tropics. Under a microscope, ring-like impressions are discernible on the long and apparently flexible tarsi (the last segment of the leg). Some of them are responsible for the "cobwebs" at neglected corners of buildings. They hang upside down in the webs and when disturbed, will vibrate themselves so vigorously that they blur themselves in the eyes of the intruder.
	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