Hedge spider

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Hedge spider
Bridge spider (Larinioides patagiatus), female

Bridge spider ( Larinioides patagiatus ), female

Systematics
Subordination : Real spiders (Araneomorphae)
Partial order : Entelegynae
Superfamily : Orb web spiders (Araneoidea)
Family : Real orb web spiders (Araneidae)
Genre : Wet spiders ( Larinioides )
Type : Hedge spider
Scientific name
Larinioides patagiatus
( Clerck , 1757)

The hedge cross spider ( Larinioides patagiatus ), also known as the edged reed or shrub wheel spider , is a spider from the family of real orb web spiders (Araneidae). The species is distributed holarctic .

features

male

The female of the hedge cross spider reaches a body length of five to eleven millimeters, the male one of five to 7.5 millimeters. This means that the hedge cross spider is a medium-sized real orb web spider.

The carapace (back shield of the prosoma or front body) is light brown to brown in color, although it appears a little darker in the male than in the female. The sternum (breast shield of the prosoma) is light brown and therefore always lighter in color than the prosoma. The legs, whose basic color is identical to that of the carapace, are additionally provided with dark brown ringlets. The legs are also provided with light hairs.

The basic color of the opisthosoma also corresponds to that of the carapace, although the flanks are lighter colored here. On the dorsal side (back side) of the opisthosoma there is a rather indistinct and darker folium (leaf pattern) and a wedge spot in front of it, as with other wet spiders (genus Larinioides ). Its light border is only really clear in the front section, while it becomes indistinct or disappears completely towards the rear edge of the wedge spot. As a result, the wedge appears there as a bright angle drawing. In the female, there is sometimes an indistinct light zone between the folium and the wedge-shaped blotch, while in the male this area is usually the same color as the folium.

Structure of the sexual organs

The bulbi (male genital organs) characteristic of the hedge spider are characterized by massive endings of the median apophyses ( chitinized appendages ).

The epigyne (female sexual organ) of the hedge cross spider has a teardrop-shaped scapus.

Similar species

Female of the bridge spider ( Larinioides sclopetarius )

Species that resemble the hedge cross spider are the relatives within the genus of the wet cross spiders ( Larinioides ). Examples are the larinioides cornutus ( L. cornutus ), the bridge spider ( L. sclopetarius ) and the Unrecognized larinioides cornutus ( L. suspicax ). The hedge spider can be easily distinguished from both the reed spider and the misunderstood reed spider by the less pronounced and low-contrast drawing of the opisthosoma. The other two species show a border around the wedge spot that widens towards the rear.

The hedge cross spider differs from the bridge spider in the clear and narrow whitish bordered wedge spot and folium as well as in the V-shaped formation formed from hairs on the dorsal side of the opisthosoma. Overall, however, the males of both species are more difficult to distinguish than the females.

With regard to their genital morphological characteristics, the hedge cross spider differs greatly from the other wet cross spiders, which makes a determination based on these characteristics the safest method of exact species identification.

Occurrence

Male at Commanster Castle in the Belgian part of the Ardennes

The wide range of the hedge cross spider includes North America , Europe , Turkey , the Caucasus , Russia (European to Far Eastern part), Central Asia , China , Mongolia and Japan . In Europe the species is widespread, only from Nowaja Zemlya , Corsica , Sicily , Slovenia , Kosovo , Albania , the European part of Turkey, Crete , Armenia and Azerbaijan there are no reports.

In the British Isles , the hedge spider can be found in scattered habitats . It occurs more frequently in the south-east of England north of the Thames . The species is also widespread in Germany, but only appears sporadically at its locations.

Habitats

Forest edges like this one from the Brünstholz forest in Baden-Württemberg are among the preferred habitats of the hedge spider

The hedge spider prefers to inhabit forest edges , light forests as well as hedges and bush landscapes , and occasionally fringing landscapes , heaths and moor forests . This means that the species is less tied to moist habitats and in terms of the demands on its habitats, it is in contrast to those of other wet spiders. Nevertheless, the hedge cross spider can occasionally be found in the vicinity of waters together with the reed spider ( Larinioides cornutus ).

The hedge cross spider has been detected up to a height of 350 meters above sea level.

Threat and protection

The hedge cross spider occurs in Germany , for example , compared to the much more common reed spider ( Larinioides cornutus ) and also the bridge spider ( Larinioides sclopetarius ), but in general it is often present here and not threatened, which puts it on the Red List of Endangered Species , Plants and fungi in Germany is classified as "harmless" and is therefore not subject to any protection status in Germany. In the United Kingdom , too , the species is classified as "LC" ("least concern") by the IUCN, despite its low occurrence there .

The worldwide population of the hedge spider is not recorded by the IUCN.

Way of life

Female in the hiding place of his safety net

In the habitats that are suitable for them, the hedge cross spider is preferably to be found on branches of trees and bushes as well as on tall shrubs, where, like all real orb web spiders, it creates a typical family orb web . During the day, the spider prefers to hide in a hiding place made of spider silk like the web itself , but on sunny days it often sits in the web at its hub (center of the web) and waits there for prey.

Net construction and catching of prey

Excerpt from The British Naturalist by John E. Robson (1891), both sexes of the hedge spider (here still called Epeira patagiata ) and the net construction are shown.

The hedge spider lays its orb web one to two meters above the ground. This is quite large and well-meshed and resembles that of the garden spider ( Araneus diadematus ). In contrast to this spider, the hedge cross spider usually moves the hub of its orb network slightly to the side after the first radii have been created. In addition, the web spiral is positioned less evenly compared to the garden spider. The shelter, connected by a spun thread attached to the hub of the net, is created from leaves that are spun together in the foliage.

The prey catch of the hedge cross spider itself corresponds to that of other true orb web spiders. If a prey gets caught in the web, the spider reacts immediately and locates the prey based on the vibrations transmitted to the web. The prey is then spun in by the spider and, as soon as it is unable to defend itself, it is finally immobilized with a poison bite . Flying insects , such as flies , fall into the prey pattern of the hedge cross spider according to their hunting method .

Phenology and reproduction

Juvenile male

Like many spider species that are widespread in the temperate climate zones, the adult individuals of the hedge cross spider also have a period of activity that is mainly distributed over the warmer months . For females of the species, this predominantly covers the period between April and September and for males between May and October, with the peak of the activity time for females in August and for males in September. It is possible that adult specimens of both sexes are active all year round.

There is apparently hardly any information about the reproductive behavior of the hedge spider.

Systematics

The hedge cross spider was first described in 1757 by its first describer Carl Alexander Clerck as Araneus patagiatus and thus, like all spiders at that time, incorporated into today's genus of cross spiders . Then it was converted several times by different authors into other genera, before the species was incorporated into the genus of the wet spiders ( Larinioides ) by Manfred Grasshoff in 1983 and was given the name L. patagiatus .

gallery

  • Female with prey

  • Male, presumably at the shelter of a female.

  • Schematics of females of the bridge spider ( Larinioides sclopetarius ), the hedge cross spider and the reed spider ( Larinioides cornutus ), excerpt from The Common Spiders of the United States. by Ginn & Company. Boston. (1902)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Larinioides patagiatus (Clerck, 1757) from araneae - Spiders of Europe, accessed on July 10, 2020.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Larinioides patagiatus (Clerck, 1757) from Natur in NRW, accessed on July 10, 2020.
  3. ↑ a b c d e L. Bee, G. Oxford, H. Smith: Britain's Spiders: A Field Guide , Princeton University Press, 2017, p. 185, ISBN 9780691165295 .
  4. ↑ a b c Michael John Roberts: The Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland , Volume 2, Brill Archive, 1985, p. 212, ISBN 9789004076587 .
  5. ↑ a b c Larinioides patagiatus (Clerck, 1757) at the British Arachnological Society, accessed July 10, 2020.
  6. ↑ Larinioides patagiatus (Clerck, 1757) at the Wiki der Arachnologische Gesellschaft e. V., accessed on July 10, 2020.
  7. ↑ Larinioides patagiatus (Clerck, 1757) at the Red List Center, accessed on July 10, 2020.
  8. ↑ Larinioides patagiatus (Clerck, 1757) at Global Biodiversity Information Facility , accessed July 10, 2020.
  9. ↑ a b Heiko Bellmann: The cosmos spider guide. Over 400 species in Europe. Kosmos Naturführer, Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos), 2nd edition, 2016, p. 142, ISBN 978-3-440-14895-2 .
  10. ↑ a b c d e Larinioides patagiatus (Clerck, 1757) in Araneidae-cz, accessed on July 10, 2020.
  11. ↑ a b Samuel Zschokke: Web construction patterns in a range of orb-weaving spiders (Araneae) , European Journal of Entomology 92, 3rd volume, 1995, pp. 523-541, accessed on July 10, 2020.
  12. ↑ Larinioides patagiatus (Clerck, 1757) in the WSC World Spider Catalog , accessed July 10, 2020.

literature

Web links

Commons : Hedge Cross Spider  - Collection of images, videos and audio files