Black-Tailed Red Sheetweaver

The Black-Tailed Red Sheetweaver (Florinda coccinea), is a member of the sheet weaver family Linyphiidae. It is one of the smallest spiders in Indiana and can be found all over Mexico and the United States. Males are slightly shorter than females in adulthood, measuring 3 to 4 millimeters on average.

With the exception of a small black protrusion at the end of their abdomens, black-tailed red sheet weavers have vivid red bodies. They earn their name because this development resembles a tiny tail. A flat, non-sticky sheet is the foundation of the black-tailed red sheet weaver's web, which is then suspended above by a maze of threads. The threads' function is to ensnare prey and make them fall into the sheet web below by entangling them. Once its prey is captured, the black-tailed red sheet weaver then moves in for the kill.