Habitat of Happy Face Spiders

Ballooning

• Most Hawaiian spiders are believed to have ended up in this habitat by ballooning -- a spider on a strand of web that is blown by the wind for long distances. Once arriving in Hawaii, the happy face spider developed, undisturbed, for years. These spiders live on the undersides of leaves in Hawaii's rain forests that range in elevation from 984 feet to 6,500 feet. They hide in the vegetation during the day and only leave their leafy homes to hunt insects at night.

Color Patterns

• Happy face spiders live on only four of Hawaii's eight main islands -- Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Hawaii, with the majority found on the Big Island. Scientists have discovered that genes responsible for the color pattern of happy face spiders vary on the four islands, according to Cornell University. Some yellow happy face spiders have almost no indication of the smiley face while other patterns include plain red or plain white bodies, red smiles and red frowns.This color pattern variation is a protective response to the different bird predators they face on their island habitats or the variation maybe completely unrelated, scientists speculate.

Home Under Siege

• Much of the lowland and foothill forests of this popular tourist destination have been lost through development. Endemic animals and insects, such as the happy face spider, now make their home in Hawaii's more remote and untouched rain forests. Even in these areas, feral pigs and weed species are invading, and development and recreational use is increasing, according the World Wildlife Fund. This spider is used by the World Wildlife Fund and other organizations as a symbol for the movement in Hawaii to try to protect this habitat from more destruction.

Facts

• Its scientific name is "theridion grallator," and the happy face spider is called "nananana makaki`I" in Hawaiian. Only a quarter-inch long, happy face spiders are among a select group; only 1 percent of the world's spiders guard their eggs and care for their spiderlings. Females guard their eggs until they hatch and feed insects to the spiderlings. Discovered in 1973, these spiders weave very small webs on the undersides of leaves.