The bird dropping spider (Celaenia excavate) derives its name from mimicking bird droppings to avoid predators, mainly birds. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Bilateria  Acoelomorpha  Orthonectida  Rhombozoa  Myxozoa  Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - Trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - Spiders, Scorpions, etc. ... Orders Acarina Amblypygi Araneae Opiliones Palpigradi Pseudoscorpionida Ricinulei Schizomida Scorpiones Solifugae Uropygi The arachnids, Arachnida, are a class of invertebrate animals in the subphylum Chelicerata. ... For other uses, see Spider (disambiguation). ... The Araneomorphae, previously called the Labidognatha, are a suborder of spiders. ... Genera many, see text The orb-weaver spiders (family Araneidae) are the familiar builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields and forests. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Carl Ludwig Koch (September 21, 1778 - August 23, 1857) was a German entomologist, specializing in arachnology. ... 1867 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Habitat and appearance

The males are much smaller than the females, about 2.5 mm as opposed to 12 mm. The females have up to 13 egg sacs, with about 200 eggs each, strung together with strong threads. Their toxicity is unknown, but may be able to cause mild illness in humans. For a list of biologically injurious substances, including toxins and other materials, as well as their effects, see poison. ...

Hunting

The bird dropping spider stays motionless on its web during the day, and only hunting for prey at night. It hangs down from a single silk thread and releases a pheromone which mimics the sex smells released by female moths. When a moth comes near the spider will capture it with their powerful front legs. Fanning honeybee exposes Nasonov gland (white-at tip of abdomen) releasing pheromone to entice swarm into an empty hive A pheromone is any chemical produced by a living organism that transmits a message to other members of the same species. ...

Additional images

External links

• University of Southern Queensland: Bird dropping spider (http://www.usq.edu.au/spider/find/spiders/136.htm)
• Bird dropping spider pictures and info (http://www.geocities.com/brisbane_weavers/BirdDroppingSpider.htm)