Diamond Comb-footed Spider

Description

Cryptachaea veruculata is a spider native to Australia and New Zealand. It has been introduced into England and Belgium. The species has potential to control spider mites and leafroller caterpillars in New Zealand. Females reach a body size of about 4 mm, males only about 1.5 mm. They sometimes build small webs in flowers and green vegetation, but will also build webs in corners of the outer walls of buildings. This species was moved from genus Achaearanea in 2008. Common names include Diamond Comb-footed Spider. In New Zealand, it is also known as just "cobweb spider". Cryptachaea is a genus of spiders in the Theridiidae (tangle web spider) family. Many species in this genus used to reside in Achaearanea, which received a major revision in 2008. The genus was originally established as a subgenus of Theridion. This is mostly a New World genus, with many species in South America. One species is cosmopolitan, one species occurs in the whole Palearctic, another only in China. C. veruculata was introduced to Europe from New Zealand. The genus name is a combination of Achaea, the old name of the genus Achaearanea, and Ancient Greek κρυπτός "hidden". The genus is called Iwama-himegumo zoku in Japanese.