Nesticodes
Female with egg sac
Male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Theridiidae
Genus: Nesticodes
Archer, 1950[1]
Species:
N. rufipes
Binomial name
Nesticodes rufipes
(Lucas, 1846)
Synonyms[1]
  • Anelosimus nelsoni Bryant, 1945
  • Robertus pilosus Denis, 1956
  • Theridion albonotatum Taczanowski, 1872
  • Theridion bajulans L. Koch, 1875
  • Theridion borbonicum Vinson, 1863
  • Theridion flavo-aurantiacum Simon, 1880
  • Theridion longipes Hasselt, 1882
  • Theridion luteolum Blackwall, 1859
  • Theridion luteipes O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869
  • Theridion rufipes Lucas, 1846

Nesticodes is a monotypic genus of comb-footed spiders containing only the red house spider [Nesticodes rufipes (Lucas, 1846)].[1] It was first described by Allan Frost Archer in 1950,[2] and has a pantropical distribution due to ship and air travel.[3]

Description

Nesticodes rufipes is a small red-bodied spider, venomous, but not harmful to humans.[3] They can be extremely common inside homes, building webs in dark corners and under furniture. They have been observed preying on insects such as mosquitoes,[4] flies,[5] and ants.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Gloor, Daniel; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Blick, Theo; Kropf, Christian (2020). "Gen. Nesticodes Archer, 1950". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  2. ^ Archer, A. F. (1950). "A study of theridiid and mimetid spiders with descriptions of new genera and species". Museum Paper, Alabama Museum of Natural History. 30: 1–40.
  3. ^ a b Sekhar, R.; Sunil Jose, K. (2017). "New distributional records of Nesticodes rufipes (Lucas, 1846) in India". Munis Entomology and Zoology. 12 (2): 478–480.
  4. ^ Rossi, Marcelo N.; Godoy, Wesley A.C. (2006). "Prey Choice by Nesticodes rufipes (Araneae, Theridiidae) on Musca domestica (Diptera, Muscidae) and Dermestes ater (Coleoptera, Dermestidae)". The Journal of Arachnology. 34 (1): 186–193. doi:10.1636/S04-7.1. ISSN 0161-8202. JSTOR 4489056. S2CID 37948193.
  5. ^ Godoy, Wesley A. C.; Reigada, Carolina; Rossi, Marcelo N. (2006). "The role of habitat heterogeneity for the functional response of the spider Nesticodes rufipes (Araneae: Theridiidae) to houseflies". Applied Entomology and Zoology. 41 (3): 419–427. doi:10.1303/aez.2006.419. hdl:11449/17241. ISSN 0003-6862.
  6. ^ Correa Bueno, Odair; Massuretti de Jesus, Carlos; Solis, Daniel Russ; Brescovit, Antônio Domingos; Fox, Eduardo (2019-02-08). "Immatures of Nesticodes rufipes (Araneae, Theridiidae) Causing Considerable Damage to Ant Colonies in the Laboratory". Figshare. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.7695518.v1.

Further reading