Red tube spider
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Red tube spider ( Eresus kollari ), male |
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| Eresus kollari | ||||||||||||
| Rossi , 1846 |
The red tube spider ( Eresus kollari ), known before 2008 as Eresus cinnaberinus or Eresus niger , is a spider from the family of tube spiders (Eresidae) and the best-known species of this family. Like other species that once belonged to the dissolved species complex Eresus cinnaberinus , it is sometimes referred to as vermilion tube spider .
features
Males reach sizes between 8 and 11 millimeters, females reach sizes from 10 to 16 (in the south up to 20) millimeters.
The front body of the male is hairy black with isolated white hair and a red border on the rear side edges. The back of the body is scarlet. In the middle there are four round, black spots that can be fringed with white. The sides of the abdomen are mostly black. Occasional white hairs can also appear. The two front pairs of legs are ringed in black and white. The two rear pairs are black with more or less red hair.
In the females, the entire body is hairy black with individual white hairs. The forehead area and the upper part of the chelicerae are usually hairy yellow. In certain populations this yellow hair can be very dense and intense.
distribution and habitat
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The distribution area of the red tube spider is in central and southern Europe. In Germany it is z. As in the Rhine Valley , in the near valley, in the Lüneburg Heath and in Brandenburg found. It prefers to live in sunny, dry places (e.g. warm mountain slopes). It can often be found where almost vegetation-free areas border the edges of the bushes, creating niches that are sheltered from the wind and exposed to the sun.
Way of life
network
The red tube spider lives in a tube five to ten centimeters deep, sloping down into the ground. This tube has a diameter of about one centimeter and is lined with web. The upper edge of the fabric expands to form a firm woven ceiling up to ten centimeters in size, which is stretched close to the floor. The blanket runs out towards the front in individual catch threads covered with cribellum wool. This web is camouflaged with moss and grass. Occasionally there are up to ten nets in one square meter.
food
Often you can find remains of prey woven into the edge of the net. These include parts of millipedes and various beetles such as dung beetles , tiger beetles and representatives of other families.
Reproduction
The animals only become sexually mature after three to four years. Mature males are mainly found in August and September. In warm, sunny weather, they seem to run around aimlessly and rather accidentally hit a female's net. The communication works without any problems and the male moves in with the female. It then lives with him and eats together with the female on the prey caught in the net. From time to time pairings take place. To do this, the male crawls under the female with almost no formalities and introduces his button. A few weeks later, the female closes its web in a spacious, lens-shaped cocoon. Here the eggs are laid. After hatching, the young gather in front of the mother's mouth and are fed with pre-digested food. Due to the large amount of digestive enzymes produced, the mother gradually seems to turn herself into food pulp. After a few days she dies. The young animals now climb the dead body and begin to suck it off. The young spiders overwinter in the maternal web. Then they disperse and build their own networks in the immediate vicinity. This also explains the closely spaced occurrence of such webs.
Subspecies
Because of their wide range, subspecies have emerged in different geographical areas. The World Spider Catalog currently lists 5 subspecies. (As of May 2016)
- Eresus kollari kollari Rossi , 1846
- Eresus kollari frontalis Latreille , 1819
- Eresus kollari ignicomus Simon , 1914
- Eresus kollari latefasciatus Simon , 1911
- Eresus kollari tricolor Simon , 1873
Taxonomy
The red tube spider was described by Vincenzo Petagna in 1787 as Araneus niger , which means black spider . This name is due to the almost completely black coloration of the female. Since other spiders had also been described under the name Araneus niger , the name Eresus cinnaberinus , introduced by Guillaume-Antoine Olivier in 1789, was used from the mid-1990s . Later, however, it turned out that Eresus cinnaberinus is a species complex with several similar species in Central Europe. After the species Eresus sandaliatus and Eresus moravicus were separated from this externally difficult to distinguish species group in 1995 and 2008 , the name Eresus cinnaberinus could no longer be used because it was not clear which of the species it originally referred to. The group remaining next to Eresus sandaliatus and Eresus moravicus was called Eresus kollari . The German name Rote Röhrenspinne was transferred to this widespread European species. However, molecular genetic studies support the assumption that other cryptic species could be hidden within this group.
Danger
On the Red List of Germany and Poland, Eresus kollari is considered endangered and protected by law.
gallery
Dorsal view of a defending male with a raised opisthosoma
Frontal view of a male
Lateral view of a male
Rear view of a male
Detail view of a male
Menacing male
Females of the subspecies E. k. ignicomis
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Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Natural History Museum of the Burgergemeinde Bern: World Spider Catalog Version 17.0 - Eresus kollari . Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- ↑ a b M. Řezáč, S. Pekár & J. Johannesen: Taxonomic review and phylogenetic analysis of central European Eresus species (Araneae: Eresidae). Zoologica Scripta, 37, pp. 263-287, 2008
- ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .
- ^ Polish Red Data Book of Animals
literature
- Heiko Bellmann : Cosmos Atlas Arachnids of Europe. Extra: freshwater crabs, woodlice and millipedes . 3. Edition. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-440-10746-1 , pp. 38 .
Web links
- Eresus kollari in the World Spider Catalog
- Eresus kollari at Fauna Europaea
- Eresus kollari in the Wiki of the Arachnological Society