Story: Spiders and other arachnids

White-tailed spider

White-tailed spider

White-tailed spiders eat other spiders, including the grey house spider. The white tail (left) mimics the struggles of an insect on the grey house spider’s web, and when the resident rushes out for a meal, it becomes dinner itself.

Using this item

Private collection
Photograph by Simon Pollard

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Simon Pollard, 'Spiders and other arachnids - Venomous spiders', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/12724/white-tailed-spider (accessed 24 September 2023)

Story by Simon Pollard, published 24 Sep 2007