Hello again! I wanted to talk about a type of spider that had me beyond curious from when I first saw one. Their behavior caught me off guard! They're called stretch spiders in the genus Tetragnatha. They're named so because of their elongated bodies and legs which allow them to stretch out almost flat against whatever they may be perching on to avoid predators and such.
The first time I saw one I chased him around the stick he was on but came away from it with nothing because he was so well hidden! So started my mission to get spiders like him identified. Two more spiders like him later, I finally got verfication on his genus.
Unlike where I live, most spiders in this genus find their home in the tropics and subtropics. Many live in Hawaii specifically. I also learned that many can run over water, I think due to their light size and elongated legs.
I think the one we saw was Tetragnatha extensa because it lives near lakes and river banks on grass and around trees and shrubs which is accurate for the environment around here. Unfortunately, I'll probably never know the exact species because they're really hard to tell apart. For most, you need to look under a microscope at their genitalia to make a confimation. I'm happy enough with a genus, I think.
From the moment I saw the first one I was determined to figure them out. I'm happy to have gotten him down to genus and really enjoyed learning about them. I hope you did too!
Yours,
Jade
