Fun Bark Crab Spider Facts For Kids
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The bark crab spider is a type of spider that belongs to the family Thomisidae. Bark crab spiders can be found in the woods, forests, parks on tree bark, short plants, the forest floor, and areas under stones and dead wood as part of their hunting ground or even grooves of stumps.
These crab spiders are endemic to North America and are primarily found there. The Bassaniana genus of spiders are jet-black or tan with black-and-white abdomens.
They are distinctive enough that you can easily identify and say that this is one of the bark crab spiders of the genus Bassaniana. These spiders are quite flat and short.
The females are bigger than the males and have fatter abdomens. They are black or tan colored with a mottled gray.
This species has eight pairs of legs, of which the front two pairs in the front are the largest and strongest and the most useful. They use these to grab their prey and strangle them.
To learn more about this fascinating spider, read on! For more relatable content, check out these yellow sac spider facts and Brazilian wandering spider facts for kids.
Bark Crab Spider Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a bark crab spider?
The bark crab spider is a type of spider that belongs to the family Thomisidae.
What class of animal does a bark crab spider belong to?
The bark crab spider belongs to the class of Arachnida and the Bassaniana genus.
How many bark crab spiders are there in the world?
The accurate number of bark crab spiders is unknown but there are 175 genera and more than 2,100 species of crab spiders all over the world.
Where does a bark crab spider live?
Bark crab spiders can be found in the woods, forests, parks on tree barks, short plants, the forest floor, and areas under stones and dead wood as part of their hunting ground or even grooves of stumps. These crab spiders are endemic to North America and are primarily found there.
What is a bark crab spider's habitat?
The habitat range of this crab spider is very versatile. These spiders can be found pretty much everywhere other than regions with very cold temperatures and underwater.
They are often seen in woods, forests, parks on tree barks, short plants, the forest floor, and areas under stones and dead wood as part of their hunting ground or even grooves of stumps. These crab spiders are endemic to North America and are primarily found there.
These crab spiders do not survive extreme weather conditions. Their diet is highly insectivorous, meaning they only eat an exclusive range of insects.
Who does the bark crab spider live with?
Bark crab spiders are mainly solitary species. They are usually known to live and hunt alone.
During the breeding season, they mate in pairs and this is purely an exercise in reproduction. By nature, these spiders have been known to hunt during the day. They crawl around on their legs pretty swiftly, searching for prey and they are proficient hunters.
How long does a bark crab spider live?
Bark crab spiders take 100-200 days to mature into adults. Males live another 35-40 days after mating. After which they are cannibalized by their female mating partner. The females on the other hand usually live another year or so after laying their eggs.
How do they reproduce?
A short while after the last molt of these crab spiders, which ideally takes place in May and early June, male bark crab spiders build a bark crab spider web inside their mating burrow. A female crab spider's last molt usually occurs from mid to late June.
To attract the female spider, the male bark crab spider has to perform a ritual that includes them vibrating their abdomen and moving their first two pairs of legs along with their palpi.
The male then touches the legs of the female with his first two pairs of legs. If the female approves of this spider then she will hang free from his web, if not, she will kill him.
Similar to all spiders of this family Thomisidae, it takes an average of 23 days after mating for the female to lay eggs in her egg sac made by her with a white sheet of the web. She creates two such egg sacs and each containing about 145- 150 eggs covered in it.
The incubation period of the bark crab spider eggs can last is up to 11 days.
What is their conservation status?
The conservation status of the Bassaniana species has not been clearly mentioned but because this species can be found in abundance across the world, we assume that they are not endangered yet.
Bark Crab Spider Fun Facts
What does a bark crab spider look like?
The Bassaniana genus of spiders are jet-black or tan with black-and-white abdomens. They are distinctive enough that you can easily identify and say that this is one of the bark crab spiders of the genus Bassaniana.
These spiders are quite flat and short. Females are bigger than the males and have fatter abdomens.
They are also more of a mottled gray in color. This species has eight pairs of legs, of which the front two pairs in the front are the largest and strongest, and also the most useful. They use these to grab their prey and strangle them.
This species uses its front legs to walk sideways and backward similar to crabs. This species has eight eyes that are very useful to them.
They help this species to observe the movements of their prey, and also track and gauge the distance of prey. Their brownish tan color helps them camouflage with their surroundings.
How cute are they?
Like all other spiders and species of the Bassaniana crab, this species also cannot be considered cute. They are quite scary. These crab spiders may even be scarier than other spiders because of their crab-like appearance and eight eyes.
How do they communicate?
Crab spiders usually prefer to be own their own which is why they are called solitary animals. It is only during mating that the male shows interest by stroking the front legs of the females or even communicating with them. They also use chemicals to identify their hunting spot and their territories.
How big is a bark crab spider?
The bark crab spider is a very tiny spider. It is only 0.15- 0.27 in (0.4-0.7 cm) in length. These spiders are almost the size of the Ohio spiders species and two times smaller than rain spiders.
How fast can a bark crab spider jump?
These spiders usually walk sideways with their hind legs and are known to be extremely quick on their feet. These spiders do not jump very high primarily because of their shape and their legs.
How much does a bark crab spider weigh?
These Bassaniana spiders are quite light weight. They only weigh 0.001 oz (0.03 g).
What are the male and female names of the species?
The male and the female members of the bark crab spider do not have any specific names.
What would you call a baby bark crab spider?
Similar to all Bassaniana spider species babies, the bark carb spider baby is also called a spiderling. 23 days after the eggs are laid, these spiderlings leave their sacs and enter the second phase of development where they may be called an instar.
What do they eat?
The diet of this Bassaniana species of spiders consists of a range of insects that they can find in their habitual areas like insects that visit flowers to feed on nectar, honeybees, butterflies, and flies.
Are they poisonous?
Most people consider the bark crab spider poisonous due to its appearance but this is just a myth. The spiders of this family commonly have poison in their fangs but not this species. While crab spider bites are not dangerous to humans, a giant crab spider bite may be painful.
Would they make a good pet?
This spider crab is a solitary animal and they do not like to stay inside. Attempting to pet them, like any other spiders or animals, is not a good idea.
Did you know...
There are over 80 genera of the crab spider and over 1,000 species that belong to this family.
What is the most poisonous spider in the world?
The Brazilian wandering spider is considered to be the most poisonous spider in the world. It inhabits Brazil.
How many eggs do bark crab spider lay?
The bark crab spider can lay an average of 500 eggs with 150 eggs in each egg sac.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other arthropods from our red admiral butterfly fun facts and milkweed tussock moth interesting facts pages.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable hobo spider coloring pages.
Main image by Robert Webster
Second image by Robert Webster
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Bachelor of Commerce specializing in Accounting and Finance
Fiza TalathBachelor of Commerce specializing in Accounting and Finance
As an assistant financial accountant, Fiza has developed a strong understanding of the business world. Her Bachelor of Commerce degree, specializing in Accounting and Finance from St Joseph's College of Commerce (Autonomous), enhances her ability to cover a wide range of topics, including finance, accounting, and business. Fiza's writing skills allow her to communicate complex concepts in a clear and engaging manner. She is also passionate about animal welfare, and enjoys writing on this subject as well.
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