but a 2008 study demonstrated they were different morphs of the same species. Adult males and juveniles are quite different in appearance to the female. They are smaller in size, being about one sixth the size of an adult female. Juveniles have a brown carapace, with a predominantly white abdomen which has a series of red-orange diamonds running along the dorsal region bordered on either side by irregular black lines. Males retain this coloration into adulthood. Due to its much smaller size, Urquhart (1886) believed the male to be a separate species and named it Theridion melanozantha. This was not rectified until 1933 when it was correctly identified as the male Latrodectus katipo. Habitat The katipō is restricted to a highly specialised habitat and is only found near the seashore among sand dunes. They generally reside on the landward side of dunes closest to the coast where they are most sheltered from storms and sand movement. They can sometimes be associated with dunes several kilometres from the sea when these dunes extend inland for long distances. Webs are typically established in low-growing dune plants and other vegetation such as the native pīngao (Ficinia spiralis) or the introduced marram grass (Ammophila arenaria). They may also build their webs under driftwood, stones, or other debris such as empty tin cans or bottles. Webs are almost always constructed over open sand and near the ground so as to catch crawling insects for food. Spiders inhabiting dune grasses construct their webs in open spaces between the grass tufts, while spiders inhabiting areas of shrubbery do so on the underside of a plant overhanging open sand. It has been found that these patches of open sand are necessary for katipō to build their webs as plants that envelop sand dunes in dense cover, such as exotic plants like kikuyu or buffalo grass, create an environment unsuitable for web construction. The katipō therefore prefers to spin its web amongst pīngao plants as this plant's growth pattern leaves patches of sand between each plant. The wind can then blow insects and other prey through these gaps and into the web. Marram grass has been extensively planted in New Zealand to help stabilise sand dunes and has largely replaced pīngao in many areas. Because marram grass grows in a very tight formation only leaving small gaps between tuffs, this makes it difficult for the katipō to construct a