The theridiidae are best known for one genus, Latrodectus, the widow spiders. Yet this is very large family with thousands of species almost nothing is known about their venoms.
This is a very large a diverse family of spiders. Most build capture webs though some have become hunters or ambush spiders and several live in the webs of other spiders.
A typical web might seem messy but actually has structure. The spider hangs from a suspended dome or platform with numerous "gum-footed" lines extending to the ground or surrounding surfaces, giving these spiders one of the common names. The platform silk is not sticky but the gum-footed lines can have several large droplets of glue near the ground.
These wads of glue snag prey and the taught line(s) may even snap prey up off the ground when the attachment points to the ground break. The spider will detect the tugs, rush down, throw more glue over the prey and gradually pull the prey up towards the platform, frequently using several lines for large prey.
Venoms
Tidarren spp.