suitable web for capturing prey. Like other theridiid spiders, the web is a disorganised, irregular tangle of fine textured silk. It is hammock-shaped and is made up of opaque yellowish-white silk. The web consists of a broad base with many supporting threads above and below, including a number of sticky guy lines anchored to debris in the sand. A cone-shaped retreat is built in the lower part of the web, although the katipō can normally be found near the main body of the web. The plants it builds its web in provide support and shelter for the nest. Range The katipō is endemic to New Zealand. In the North Island it is found along the West Coast from Wellington to North Cape. On the east coast of the North Island it occurs irregularly, however, it is abundant on Great Barrier Island. In the South Island it is found in coastal regions south to Dunedin on the east coast and south to Greymouth on the west coast. This southern limit is due to the katipō needing temperatures higher than about to be maintained during the development of their eggs – in the southern areas of New Zealand it is typically colder than this. The red katipō is found south of approximately 39°15′ S (the western tip of Taranaki on the west coast, and just north of Waipatiki Beach in Hawke's Bay on the east coast). The black katipō is found north of approximately 38° S (Aotea Harbour, just north of Kawhia on the west coast, and Waipiro Bay and just south of the Bay of Plenty on the east coast). Both forms are found in the area in between these latitudes. Behaviour Diet The katipō typically catches wandering ground invertebrates such as beetles (e.g. Cecyropa modesta) or amphipods (e.g. Bellorchestia quoyana), but it may occasionally catch moths, flies, and other spiders. Katipō can catch insects much larger than themselves. These larger insects often become entangled in the web and in the ensuing struggle, the web's ground anchor line breaks. The silk's elasticity causes the prey to become suspended a few centimetres off the ground. The katipō then moves to the prey, turns so that the spinnerets are facing the insect and spins silk over it. Like most theridiids, the tarsi of the hind legs have a row of strong curved bristles which are arranged as a comb. The katipō uses these