Araniella displicata
| Araniella displicata | ||||||||||||
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Araniella displicata , female |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Araniella displicata | ||||||||||||
| ( Hentz , 1847) |
Araniella displicata is a species of spider from the family of the real orb web spiders . The very attractive color is one of the rarer representatives of the genus Araniella and is considered endangered in Germany.
features
Araniella displicata is a relatively small orb web spider. The females reach a size of six to eleven millimeters, the males are a maximum of five millimeters in size. In the adult, the prosoma is orange-red in color and has no markings or hairs. The prosoma border is usually a little lighter. The basic color of the opisthosoma is variable and ranges from reddish to yellowish green. In the middle there is always a white drawing on the leaves, as well as a white border on the side, which does not quite reach the tip of the abdomen. Within this border are a row of black dots on the left and right. The opisthosoma is only slightly hairy. In older animals, the basic color of the opisthoma can fade overall so that it appears predominantly white.
The females have an orange-colored band with light points on the belly side, while in the males the light points merge into a light central band. Like the rest of the body, the darkly spiked legs are colored orange, with a ring of a lighter and a darker shade.
Like most orb web spiders, the anterior and posterior median eyes are arranged in a square. The side eyes are close together; roughly on the horizontal midline of the median eyes. The males have a smaller abdomen than the females, and the front legs are usually more clearly marked.
The young spiders of A. displicata are reddish-brown in color and the leaf markings are missing or very indistinct. Therefore, they are very similar to the young of the other Araniella species. Only the older animals can be clearly identified based on their appearance.
Synonyms
- Araniella croatica Kulczynski, 1905
distribution and habitat
A. displicata is distributed over the entire northern hemisphere . It is much rarer in Germany than the related species Araniella cucurbitina and A. opisthographa .
The species apparently prefers sandy areas or sandy grasslands with free-standing pines. She then lingers on these pines and, depending on age and body size, spans her little wheel network between branches or between the needles at the branch tips. There it lurks for prey in the hub of the net.
Way of life
Adult animals are found from late spring to early autumn. After laying eggs, the females die very soon. The young spiders can be found in spring on low plants or on the pines on which the cocoons have overwintered. The young spiders immediately build small web nets, typically also on the tips of pine branches between the ends of the needles.
Danger
Araniella displicata is classified in the Red List of Germany in category 3 ("endangered").
Web links
Araniella displicata in the World Spider Catalog
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d Michael J. Roberts : Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe. HarperCollins, London et al. 1995, ISBN 0-00-219981-5 .
- ↑ Araniella displicata (Hentz 1847). Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on August 20, 2007 .
- ↑ Natural History Museum of the Burgergemeinde Bern: World Spider Catalog Version 15.5 - Araniella displicata . Retrieved September 7, 2014.
- ^ Atlas of the arachnids of Europe
- ↑ Heiko Bellmann : Kosmos-Atlas arachnids of Europe. 2nd Edition. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-440-09071-X .
- ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany (= series of publications for landscape care and nature conservation. 55). Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .