[2] Anelosimus is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997[citation needed]).

The web of a colony of A. eximius can reach cover entire tree canopies and contain tens of thousands of individuals.

Most of the highly social species live in lowland tropical forests, and all occur in the Americas.

[3][4] Social Anelosimus species are generally highly inbred and have female-biased sex ratios, with up to 10 females per male.

[5] Anelosimus spiders have a notched red or brown band on their abdomen, which is dark when preserved in alcohol.