Kaira (genus)
Encyclopedia
Kaira is a mostly neotropical genus
of orb-weaving spider with 16 described species. They occur from South America
up to the southern and eastern USA.
They spin small webs from which they hang upside down and attract male moth
s that fly into a basket formed by their legs. They use a moth pheromone
for this, which resembles the one used by the Bolas spiders Mastophora. The two genera are not closely related, although they belong to the same family. Thus, the same moth catching behavior must have evolved independently in the two genera.
All species are pale yellow-white with scattered, small, white, brown and black random spots, or in some species transverse bands. Females have a body length of about four to ten millimeters. Males are less than half the size of females and less pigmented.
Kaira specimens are uncommon in arachnologist collections, and the females of different species are difficult to separate. Females and immatures can be confused with species of the not closely related genus Pozonia.
, Amazonepeira and Metepeira
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of orb-weaving spider with 16 described species. They occur from South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
up to the southern and eastern USA.
They spin small webs from which they hang upside down and attract male moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s that fly into a basket formed by their legs. They use a moth pheromone
Pheromone
A pheromone is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual...
for this, which resembles the one used by the Bolas spiders Mastophora. The two genera are not closely related, although they belong to the same family. Thus, the same moth catching behavior must have evolved independently in the two genera.
All species are pale yellow-white with scattered, small, white, brown and black random spots, or in some species transverse bands. Females have a body length of about four to ten millimeters. Males are less than half the size of females and less pigmented.
Kaira specimens are uncommon in arachnologist collections, and the females of different species are difficult to separate. Females and immatures can be confused with species of the not closely related genus Pozonia.
Behavior
When a fly was put into a jar containing a K. alba, the female dropped from the underside of the lid on what seemed a single thread about 12 mm (0.5 inch) long and hung there until the fly blundered into her. Then she clamped her legs around it and killed it. Instead of constructing orb webs, they construct a small trapezoidal web, containing two triangular zigzags of threads, which is remade every twenty minutes. The spider then hangs upside-down by the fourth leg on the lower and shorter parallel edge of the trapezoid, which is spread by the other legs. When a moth flies into the basket formed by the spider's legs, it is clasped and bitten, and later wrapped in araneid-like fashion. The moth is then hung from a trapeze line between the last legs of the spider, which resumes the hunting posture. As many as eight moths can be caught in this way before the spider starts feeding.Relationships
The genus is presumably related to AculepeiraAculepeira
Aculepeira is a spider genus in the Araneidae family.-Species:* Aculepeira aculifera — USA to Guatemala* Aculepeira albovittata — Paraguay, Argentina...
, Amazonepeira and Metepeira
Metepeira
Metepeira is a genus of orb-weaver spiders with about 40 described species. These are found from Argentina to Canada, including Caribbean islands.-Name:...
.
Species
- Kaira alba (HentzNicholas Marcellus HentzNicholas Marcellus Hentz was a French American arachnologist. Hentz was born in Versailles, France. He immigrated to the United States in 1816 and became a pioneering zoologist in the field of arachnology....
, 1850) (VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
) - Kaira altiventer O. P.-Cambridge, 1889 (southern TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to southern BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
) - Kaira candidissima (Mello-LeitãoCândido Firmino de Mello-LeitãoCândido Firmino de Mello-Leitão, , was a Brazilian zoologist who is considered the founder of Arachnology in South America, publishing 198 papers on the taxonomy of Arachnida...
, 1941) (ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
) - Kaira cobimcha Levi, 1993 (Brazil)
- Kaira conica Gerschman & Schiapelli, 1948 (Brazil, Argentina)
- Kaira dianae Levi, 1993 (PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
) - Kaira echinus (SimonEugène SimonEugène Simon was a French arachnologist. His many taxonomic contributions include categorizing and naming many spiders, as well as creating genera such as Anelosimus, Psellocoptus and Phlogius....
, 1897) (Brazil, Argentina) - Kaira electa (KeyserlingEugen von KeyserlingEugen von Keyserling was a German arachnologist.He was the author of Die Spinnen Amerikas, and completed Die Arachniden Australiens on behalf of Ludwig Carl Christian Koch.-External links:...
, 1883) (Brazil) - Kaira erwini Levi, 1993 (Peru)
- Kaira gibberosa O. P.-Cambridge, 1890 (Mexico to southern Brazil)
- Kaira hiteae Levi, 1977 (southeastern USA)
- Kaira levii Alayón, 1993 (CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
) - Kaira sabino Levi, 1977 (Southern ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
) - Kaira sexta (ChamberlinRalph Vary ChamberlinRalph Vary Chamberlin was an American zoologist from Salt Lake City, Utah. He received his PhD from Cornell University in 1904. He was a professor of zoology at Brigham Young University from 1908-1911, and at the University of Utah from 1925-1938....
, 1916) (GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
to Brazil) - Kaira shinguito Levi, 1993 (Peru)
- Kaira tulua Levi, 1993 (ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
)