On average, they are 6–10 mm long and are a mottled brown colour, covered in silvery grey hair.

They typically reside in arid and semi-arid locations, building their nests in various trees, bushes, and other plant-life.

Pregnant P. candidus females build their nests and their offspring live, hunt, and grow there until maturity.

Phryganoporus candidus is a small spider, with both males and females typically measuring 6–10 mm long.

[3] Males, unlike other closely related spiders, have palps without any easily apparent patellar offshoots.

[2] As P. candidus has a mutualistic relationship with Acacia ligulata, they tend to build their nests on those trees, but are not exclusive to them.

[5] P. candidus consume a large variety of arthropods, including Elateridae (beetles), blattidae (cockroaches), and coccinellidae (lady bugs).

[4] They are fairly general feeders, however, and will typically eat whatever manages to get caught in their webbing, even other types of spiders that are trying to consume their eggs.

[7] Mealybugs, which can be found scavenging in their nests and would make a very opportune prey for P. candidus, are immune to their predation.

No exact reason is known why, but it is assumed to be due to the waxy filament that covers their body and their defensive secretions.

[4] P. candidus nests are elaborately built, consisting of many materials like leaves, twigs, and other debris that is bound together with their webbing.

[4] They are constructed by a single founding pregnant female in the late summer and are mazes of tunnels to help trap their prey.

When taken in for observation, these nests were found to be full of many other arthropods, including a multitude of predators and scavengers trying to take advantage of P. candidus.

[9] If egg sacs are produced from matings, they will be covered in spider silk and safely placed in a new mother’s nest as they develop.

[7] P. candidus are considered a subsocial species, as they only cooperate as juveniles due to the pheromones the mother secretes as she builds the natal nest.

[2] Sub-adult female spiders, regardless of relation, are known to work together to bring down prey, as long as they are not looking for territory to build nests.

[5] It flowers in September and then develops its fruit over the following couple of months before dispersing its seeds in late summer.

[6] Their main pair of eyes can see over 30 body lengths in front of them, and helps them to identify potential mates, rivals, and predators.

[6] While generally not a nuisance, P. candidus can be a pest to farmers and orchardists, who have complained of foliage matting, leaf falling, and limb damage due to their trees being infested with these spiders.

The reason why it can paralyze prey but not humans is likely that the venom is injected in low quantities that can only effect small organisms.