What is Social spider?
[[File:2007-social-spider-1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Social spiders in their web]] A '''social spider''' is a [[species]] of [[spider]] which lives in a group. Most spiders are solitary, but a few species in [[tropical]] [[habitats]] live in large groups.<ref>Goldman, James G. 2016. Meet the spiders that have formed armies 50,000 strong. ''BBC Earth''. [http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160122-meet-the-spiders-that-have-formed-armies-50000-strong] Includes excellent photographs. </ref> This social organisation has evolved independently a number of times. At least 23 species in eight [[family (biology)|families]] are known.<ref>Agnarsson, Ingi ''et al'' 2006. Sociality in Theridiid spiders: repeated origins of an evolutionary dead end. ''Evolution'' '''60''' (11): 2342–51. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17236425]</ref> These spiders have not developed a [[caste (biology)|caste]] system, and so they are not classed as [[eusociality|eusocial]]. The first one was discovered over a century ago by [[Eugène Simon]] (30 April 1848 &ndash; 17 November 1924). This French [[naturalist]] described over 4,000 species of spider.<ref name=Platnick&Raven2013>{{cite journal|last1=Platnick|first1=Norman I.|last2=Raven|first2=Robert J.|title=Spider systematics: past and future |journal=Zootaxa|date=2013|volume=3683|issue=5|pages=595–600|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3683.5.8|pmid=25250473}}</ref> == References == {{reflist}} {{-}} {{biology-stub}} [[Category:Spiders]]