Tree Trunk Spider

Hersilia savignyi

 PLOT :
                I like to click these guys. These are very calm and always give you enough time to prepare for click. I have clicked them lot of time with pray. If you maintain required minimum distance they will stuck at their position for hours.

                                        The tree trunk spiders are members of the tropical and semi-tropical Family Hersiliidae. There are about 150 species in this family. These spiders have two very prominent spinnerets that are almost as long as their abdomen. So they are also sometimes known as "two-tailed spiders." They range in size from about 10 mm (0.4 inch) to 18 mm (0.7 inch) long. Being very well camouflaged for life on the varicolored trunks of trees, they have an interesting way of capturing prey. Rather than making a web that captures prey directly, they lay a light coating of threads over an area of tree bark and wait hidden in plain sight for an insect to stray onto that patch. Once that occurs, they direct their spinnerets toward their prey and circle it; all the while casting silk on it. When the hapless insect has been thoroughly immobilized, they can bite it through its new shroud.

Taxonomy

Kingdom :   Animalia
Phylum :      Arthropoda
Class :         Arachnida
Order :        Araneae
Suborder :   Araneomorphae
Family :       Hersilidae
Genus :        Hersilia
Species :      H. savignyi

Sources :  1)http://www.richard-seaman.com/Arthropods/PhotoGalleries/Spiders/index.html 2)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hersilia_savignyi 3)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_trunk_spider