Kaira (genus)

Taxobox
name = "Kaira"


image_caption =
image_width = 250px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Arachnida
ordo = Araneae
subordo = Araneomorphae
familia = Araneidae
subfamilia =
genus = "Kaira"
genus_authority = O. P-Cambridge, 1889
diversity_link = List of Araneidae species#Kaira
diversity = 16 species
type_species = "Kaira gibberosa"
type_species_authority = O. P-Cambridge, 1890
range_

range_map_width = 250px
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.

"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 moths 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.Levi 1993]

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 given 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 "Aculepeira", "Amazonepeira" and "Metepeira".

pecies

* "Kaira alba" (Hentz, 1850) (Virginia to Mexico)
* "Kaira altiventer" O. P.-Cambridge, 1889 (southern Texas to southern Brazil)
* "Kaira candidissima" (Mello-Leitão, 1941) (Argentina)
* "Kaira cobimcha" Levi, 1993 (Brazil)
* "Kaira conica" Gerschman & Schiapelli, 1948 (Brazil, Argentina)
* "Kaira dianae" Levi, 1993 (Peru)
* "Kaira echinus" (Simon, 1897) (Brazil, Argentina)
* "Kaira electa" (Keyserling, 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 (Cuba)
* "Kaira sabino" Levi, 1977 (Southern Arizona)
* "Kaira sexta" (Chamberlin, 1916) (Guatemala to Brazil)
* "Kaira shinguito" Levi, 1993 (Peru)
* "Kaira tulua" Levi, 1993 (Colombia)

Footnotes

References

* (1993): The orb-weaver genus "Kaira" (Araneae: Araneidae). "Journal of Arachnology" 21(3): 209-225. [http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v21_n3/JoA_v21_p209.pdf PDF]
* (2007): [http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/index.html The world spider catalog] , version 8.0. "American Museum of Natural History".