About Arachnura scorpionoides Vinson, 1863
Arachnura scorpionoides Vinson, 1863, commonly called the African scorpion-tail spider, is a species of drag tail spider in the family Araneidae. It is found across multiple African countries and western Indian Ocean islands. Confirmed recorded locations include Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Seychelles, Mayotte, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Réunion. In South Africa, it occurs in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, and Western Cape provinces. This spider lives in the Fynbos, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Savanna, and Thicket biomes, and also inhabits macadamia orchards. It can be found at altitudes ranging from 7 to 1,411 m above sea level. Arachnura scorpionoides builds a permanent orb-web that has an open hub. The web hangs at an angle, with a V-shaped section missing from the top. During autumn and winter, females create a series of woolly, brownish egg sacs. They string these egg sacs together in a line from the centre of the web to fill in the missing V-shaped section of the web. The spider rests at the bottom of this egg string. When disturbed, a female will curl her tail up over her back in a scorpion-like posture. Its front legs are stronger than its other legs, and living individuals keep these front legs held close to their body.
