Badumna longinqua facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Badumna longinqua
Scientific classification

The grey house spider, also known by its scientific name Badumna longinqua, is a type of spider. It belongs to a spider family called Desidae. This spider originally came from eastern Australia. However, it has now spread to many other places. You can find it in New Zealand, Japan, the United States, Mexico, and Uruguay.

What Does the Grey House Spider Look Like?

The grey house spider is a medium-sized spider. Male spiders can grow up to about 11 millimeters long. Female spiders are a bit bigger, reaching up to 15 millimeters.

Its common name, "grey house spider," comes from its color. Its body, which includes its head and chest (called the cephalothorax) and its belly (abdomen), is covered with light-grey hairs. It also has small spot-like markings. Its legs are purplish-brown and have stripes made of hairs. The top part of its body, called the carapace, is brown. It gets darker near its mouthparts (chelicerae) and eyes.

This spider has eight small, black eyes. The two front middle eyes are special because they are about one and a half times larger than the other eyes.

Where Do Grey House Spiders Live?

Home in Australia and New Zealand

The grey house spider first lived in eastern Australia. Over time, it was accidentally brought to New Zealand. Now, it lives all over both the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It is very common in the North Island. In the South Island, it is less common in the southern and western parts. This is because the weather conditions there are not good for it.

These spiders have spread more and more over the last few decades. This often happens because of human travel and trade. They likely arrived in New Zealand a long time ago. They probably hitched rides on ships, planes, trains, or in goods. This way of traveling is called phoresy. The first time this spider was officially seen in New Zealand was in the 1900s.

How They Travel

Human activities help these spiders spread. Badumna longinqua can travel hidden inside goods being moved around. Ships, trains, and planes offer them warmth and food.

Another way spiders can travel is by "ballooning". This is when a young spider lets out a long thread of silk. The wind or warm air currents then carry the spider high into the air. This helps them travel long distances.

A spider that is closely related to the grey house spider is the black house spider (Badumna insignis). This spider is a bit larger. It has also spread to New Zealand, but only to the northern part of the North Island.

Global Homes

Besides Australia and New Zealand, Badumna longinqua has spread to many other countries. These include Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Japan, the United States, Uruguay, and South Africa.

Life of a Grey House Spider

A female grey house spider might spend her whole life in the same web. However, male spiders must leave their homes when they are ready to find a mate. Males start looking for females during the warmer months. This is usually from summer through early autumn.

We don't know much about how B. longinqua spiders find partners. We also don't know a lot about their daily lives. But generally, they are known to be solitary spiders. This means they live alone.

The exact lifespan of the grey house spider is not officially recorded. However, its closest relative, the black house spider (Badumna insignis), lives for about two years. So, it is thought that the grey house spider might live for a similar amount of time.

The Grey House Spider's Web

To start its web, the grey house spider first finds a good hiding spot. This might be a crack or a small opening. From this spot, it builds a tube-like entrance. It then lines this entrance with silk.

From this tube, the spider builds many ladder-like webs. These webs spread out from the entrance. Because of this, the grey house spider is part of a group called ladderweb spiders. It is one of only a few spiders in New Zealand that build this type of web.

The grey house spider uses a special type of silk called cribellate silk. This silk is used for the zig-zag patterns in its web. The spider has a special comb-like tool on its back legs, called a calamistrum. It uses this tool to comb the silk for its web.

Since the female spider stays in her web for a long time, the web gets messy. The spider adds new silk and fixes the web every night. This makes the web look more and more untidy over time.

Even though these spiders are very common around homes in New Zealand, you don't often see them. This is because they hunt for food at night. During the day, they stay hidden in their retreats. Also, they usually don't wander into houses looking for a mate. This is different from some other common types of spiders. When night comes, the grey house spider comes out of its hiding spot. It tends to its web and then waits for a meal.

What Do Grey House Spiders Eat?

The grey house spider is a web-building spider. This means it builds its web in a quiet, undisturbed place. It then waits for food to come to it and get caught.

These spiders eat many different kinds of insects. Their diet includes small psyllids, ants, and moths. They can also catch insects much larger than themselves. These include wasps, bees, and even bumblebees and cicadas. However, more than half of their diet is usually made up of different kinds of flies.

When an insect gets stuck in the sticky web, the spider quickly rushes out. It bites the prey and wraps it up more with silk. It keeps doing this until the prey cannot move or escape. If the spider catches food during the day, it goes back into its safe hiding spot. It comes out after nightfall to eat its catch. Spiders eat by turning their prey into liquid. They inject or spit digestive fluids into their prey. Then, they suck up the digested food.

Who Eats the Grey House Spider?

Parasitic wasps and flies can be a danger to the grey house spider. But its biggest enemy is a famous hunting spider called Lampona. This spider is better known as the white-tailed spider.

There are two types of Lampona spiders in New Zealand. Both of them seem to really like eating grey house spiders. Along the Pacific Coast of California, and likely in other countries, grey house spiders are often eaten by the long-bodied cellar spider. This spider is also called the "daddy long legs" (Pholcus phalangioides). This is another very common spider that has been introduced to Aotearoa (New Zealand). Many birds also eat grey house spiders. Some mammals, like New Zealand Short-tailed Bats, also prey on them.