This tiny spider is technically known as Theridion grallator -- but if you look at the picture to the right, it’s not hard to see how it got its more popular name: the happy-face spider.

These spiders are found only in rainforests in the Hawaiian Islands, and have a vast range of patterns and colors. The patterns may have developed as a way of confusing predators. They are less than a quarter of an inch long and live alone on the underside of leaves.

The most common form is plain yellow and has no smile. But other variations are plentiful; the ‘red front’ morph pictured here with a cluster of her eggs is the second most common.