Green hoof spider
| Green hoof spider | ||||||||||||
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Green hoof spider ( Micrommata virescens ), female |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Micrommata virescens | ||||||||||||
| ( Clerck , 1757) |
The green house spider ( Micrommata virescens ) is a real spider from the family of giant crab spiders (Sparassidae).
features
Male specimens reach a length of 8 to 10 millimeters, females are between 12 and 15 millimeters in size. The front body and legs of both sexes are strikingly grass green, as is the rear body of the female. The male has a red vertical stripe on the back of the body, which is surrounded by two yellow stripes. Further to the side there are again two red stripes.
The young animals are also green at first, but before wintering they get a yellow-brown, slightly greenish, basic color with reddish dots that come together in places to form striped drawings.
Green house spiders live to be around 18 months.
Subspecies
- Micrommata virescens ornata ( Walckenaer , 1802 )
distribution and habitat
Micrommata virescens is widespread in Central Europe and particularly not uncommon in the southern areas. It lives mainly in warm places, such as in sparse deciduous forests, on the edge of the forest or on dry grassland overgrown with bushes.
Way of life and reproduction
The green hoof spider is a nimble hunter who is active during the day and lives in the herbaceous and shrub layers of the vegetation of different habitats. The warmth-loving animal hunts without a net.
Mature animals can be found mainly in May and June, females occasionally in August. The mating is similar to that of the wolf spiders . The male mounts the female from the front, then bends down to the side and inserts a button. Although the button is only changed once, this process can take several hours. The female then builds an egg chamber out of spun leaves, which is usually fastened close to the ground and guarded until it hatches. The eggs are also green.
Others
The Green Hush Spider was voted Spider of the Year in 2004. A spider that sounds similar in name and sometimes also looks similar is the green lynx spider .
gallery
Green hoof spider - frontal view
Green hoof spider - well camouflaged on a blade of grass
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Web links
Micrommata virescens in the World Spider Catalog
literature
- Heiko Bellmann : Kosmos-Atlas Arachnids of Europe , 1997, ISBN 3-440-07025-5
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hänggi, Ambros; Stöckli, Edi; Nentwig, Wolfgang, 1995. Habitat of Central European Spiders. Miscellanea Faunistica Helvetiae - Center suisse de cartographie de la faune, Neuchâtel. ISBN 2-88414-008-5
Water spider (2000) | Wasp spider (2001) | Listspider (2002) | Great trembling spider (2003) | Green House Spider (2004) | Zebra jumping spider (2005) | Crab Spider (2006) | Common wolf spider (2007) | Angle spider (2008) | Triangular spider (2009) | Garden spider (2010) | Common Labyrinth Spider (2011) | Cave Wheel Web Spider (2012) | Common wallpaper spider (2013) | Common canopy spider (2014) | Vierfleck-Zartspinne (2015) | Cone spider (2016) | Crevasse spider (2017) | Fat Spider (2018) | Ant jumping spider (2019) | Edged hunting spider (2020)