He definitely had legs to stand on — eight red ones to be exact. The male red-legged purseweb spider’s eight bright red legs help him stand up and stand out. The female’s legs are black, so it is easy to determine the sex of this special arachnid and get confused by the name if you are looking at the black legged female red-legged purseweb spider.

Those legs will also take that guy where he needs to go. These spiders, however, are not the traveling type, preferring to spend most of their time in their unique web home. Only the male will wander away from its web, and only when he is on the prowl for a mate.

He will find his companion in her own tunnel-shaped web which she never leaves. The male will knock on her door by tapping the web and she will respond with her own signal to let him know that he can come in. He enters with her blessing, and they will mate, after which he will either leave what will become the natal nest or be eaten by his paramour as evidenced by the remains of male purseweb spiders that scientists have found in her lair.

Red-legged purseweb spiders build their up to 10-inch-long webs vertically attached to a tree, stone,or other solid object. This technique allows the webs to blend into their environment, a lookalike to a leaning stick, camouflage that may help the spiders avoid predators and confuse its prey.

Spider foodstuff, including insects and other arachnids, will climb onto this disguised structure. These soon-to-be snacks will be impaled by the spider inside, which uses its venomous vertical fangs to reach out through the web and pull its prey back into its web to consume the unwitting caught creature. After the hungry spider eats, it will repair the web and await its next unsuspecting meal.

A striking red-legged spider was seen and captured on camera by Chilmark resident (and spider enthusiast) Willow Rindos, who was fascinated by its web and wily ways. She is in good company for appreciating arachnids with the likes of French polymath and arachnologist Charles Athanase Walckenaer, who named the genus of this species. Walckenaer tragically lost his parents in childhood — and then his uncle, who took him in, was guillotined during the French Revolution. 

He later married a relative, though I can only hope that his family tragedies ceased and they lived happily ever after (finding and naming spiders along the way). Walckenaer called this genus Sphodros, which means countryman. The full scientific name of the red-legged purseweb is Sphodrus rufipes, with the species name translating to red-footed.

These red-footed countrymen are considered mygalomorphs, which are an intraorder of spiders that include tarantulas. Our local mygalomorphs are harmless to humans, even if their venom is deadly to their prey species. Its chelicerae, which include the spider’s mouthpart and fangs, are large: half the length of its body and they easily get the job done.

These ferocious fangs and this spider that came with them didn’t scare Willow at all. She approached the creature with the same fascination as the man who gave them their original name. Although Walckenaer’s tragedies may be more than many can bear, the red-legged purseweb spider helped him find meaning in science and joy in nature and its relatives continue to captivate all that encounter this long legged legend.

Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature and The Nature of Martha’s Vineyard.