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Crawlies with Cri: by Christy Solo

(Photo by Christy Solo for the Illinois Valley News)

Genus Zelotes ground spider

This week’s Spooky Season crawly is an inky black creature of the night. Meet the Genus Zelotes ground spider.
There are 46 species of zelotes in North America, 99% of which are the same shade of “black as a raven’s wing” so we don’t know which species our obsidian friend is.
So what do we know?
We know that zelotes are itsy-bitsy spiders indeed, about one-quarter of an inch in size. If it weren’t for a macro-lens-eye-view you’d never see our pictured pretty sitting motionless on the pea gravel walkway.
Before we get much further, we should also drop our “don’t panic” PSA regarding zelotes. First, they don’t have the moniker “ground spider” for nothing. They are outdoor spiders and not a species prone to wandering indoors. On the off chance one did find themself on the wrong side of the door, all they would want is to get away from humans and back outside as quickly as possible. Finally, their venom is not medically significant to humans or pets.
Even outdoors, it’s unlikely you’ll be lucky enough to see a zelotes in person. Despite zelotes being one of the larger ground spider families (Family Gnaphosidae) there are only 35 recorded sightings of them in Oregon.
Zelotes are nocturnal hunters and spend most of the daytime hours holed up in their silken retreats. Even if you were looking for a zelotes actively, finding a one-quarter of an inch pitch black spider at night is – to say the least – challenging.
Zelotes are also speedy and excellent at hiding. If a zelotes happens to be spotted while they are out and about, it doesn’t take much effort for them to quickly find a hiding spot because they are very small and pretty flat.
Backing up to zelotes’ silken retreats, they are an engineering marvel. Zelotes have been described as “the panthers” of the wee spider world. They use their speed to hunt their prey (very small insects) and use their silk for protection only.
Their spinnerets (the two teeny tubes at the back of their abdomen) are divergent, so they can move them like separate fingers to weave a sheath versus a web comprised of single strands.
Not only does this give them the ability to create safe hides to while away the daylight hours, but they also use their silky skills to wrap their egg sacs. Most importantly, their swiftness and dexterity with weaving enables zelotes to immobilize larger spider species who may be considering having them as a snack.
This weaving speed also helps female zelotes protect their eggs and young, which they do fiercely. Zelotes are excellent mothers. First, they build thin, flat egg sacs with sturdy paper-like walls. Those are then wrapped in silk for extra protection. That’s not enough for our mum zelotes though. They will stand guard over their eggs 24/7 ready to fight off any would-be predator or parasite.
Once the eggs hatch, the mother stays with the spiderlings until they are mature enough to care for themselves, then the young will disperse and set up their own silken hides under logs, among rocks, in leaf litter or similarly suitable places.