Filistata insidiatrix (Forsskål, 1775)
Filistata insidiatrix is a large and conspicuous species of crevice-weaver spider. It is the most widely distributed species of Filistata, found around the Mediterranean sea and east, to central Asia. It makes small silken retreats in holes in the rock, and under stones, and is often synanthropic. It is a generalist hunter, feeding on a wide variety of insects and isopods.
Filistata insidiatrix was found to be closely related to Filistata betarif
photo by: Igor A. S.
Female Filistata cf. insidiatrix in silken retreat
Magalhaes, Aharon, Ganem & Gavish-Regev, 2022, which has a narrow distribution in and around caves in Israel. The two species differ genomically, and the males of the species differ by details of their genitalia, but the females cannot be separated based on morphology.
Accession in GENBANK:
Accession in the World Spider Catalog:
Distribution map, not including introduced populations (adapted from Magalhaes, Aharon, Ganem & Gavish-Regev, 2022)
Articles about Filistata insidiatrix:
Zonstein, S., & Marusik, Y. M. (2019). A revision of the spider genus Filistata (Araneae: Filistatidae). Arachnology, 18(2), 53-93.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13156/arac.2018.18.2.53
Magalhaes, I. L., Aharon, S., Ganem, Z., & Gavish-Regev, E. (2022). A new semi-cryptic Filistata from caves in the Levant with comments on the limits of Filistata insidiatrix (Forsskål, 1775)(Arachnida: Araneae: Filistatidae). European Journal of Taxonomy, 831(149), 149-174.
Taxonomic Classification
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Filistatidae
Genus: Filistata
Species: Filistata insidiatrix
Authors: Forsskål, 1775
Ecological Classification
Category: Troglophile
Cave zone: Entrance, outside
Microhabitat: In walls, under stones