Antmimic spiders (Family Corinnidae)

There are 7 species of antmimic spiders known from Ohio. This represents about 1% of our spider species.

Characteristics of Corinnidae:

• usually dark in color, blacks, browns, with white or red highlights
• often mimic ant movement patterns and in their body form
• fast running, often diurnal spiders
• anterior spinnerets contiguous, conical
• found on ground, often in open
• medium-sized spiders; about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in length

Members of this family are active daytime hunters and build a tubular retreat of silk each night. Nicholas Hentz, one of the earliest scientists to study spiders in America, said of Castianeira longipalpus that they move with the “rapidity of lightning”. They hunt primarily on the ground. Several species are thought to mimic the behavior and appearance of ants. This mimicry may protect them from predation, because ants are generally distasteful to predators.

Ohio Examples: