Striped cross spider
| Striped cross spider | ||||||||||||
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Striped spider, female |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Mangora acalypha | ||||||||||||
| ( Walckenaer , 1802) |
The striped spider ( Mangora acalypha ) is a species of spider from the family of the real orb web spiders (Araneidae). It is the only type of the genus in Central Europe and is widespread and common here.
features
Stripe cross spiders are small orb web spiders. The females reach a body length of 5.5–6.0 mm, the males 3.0–3.5 mm. In both sexes the front body ( prosoma ) and the heavily bristled legs are monochrome, light yellowish or greenish brown. The prosoma has a black central stripe and a narrow black border. The abdomen ( opisthosoma ) is yellowish-white on top and shows an indistinct black central line on the front and three broad, parallel black lines on the back. The species is unmistakable in Central Europe.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the striped spider is largely limited to the southwestern Palearctic and extends in a west-east direction from the Azores and the Canary Islands across North Africa and most of Europe to the east and into central Siberia . In a north-south direction, the area extends from Norway, Sweden and the Baltic States to North Africa, Iraq and further east to the south to northern Iran and Afghanistan . The distribution area includes the temperate to Mediterranean zone. The species is absent in Europe in northern Scandinavia as well as in Finland. In Germany it is widespread almost everywhere.
The striped spider lives in open, warm, grass-rich areas in Central Europe, such as dry lawns and path margins in fields, and is there predominantly in the herbaceous layer.
Way of life
The small and very close-meshed nets, which are mostly built close to the ground, are usually steeply inclined. During the day, the females sit on the underside of the net in the middle of the net. Sexually mature animals can be found from May to June.
Danger
The species is widespread and common. In Germany it is classified as "safe" in the Red List .
literature
- Heiko Bellmann : Cosmos Atlas Arachnids of Europe . 3rd edition, Kosmos, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-440-10746-1 : pp. 116-117
- Ralph Platen, Bodo von Broen, Andreas Herrmann, Ulrich M. Ratschker, Peter Sacher: Total species list and red list of spiders, harvestmen and pseudoscorpions of the state of Brandenburg (Arachnida: Araneae, Opiliones, Pseudoscorpiones) with information on frequency and ecology. Nature conservation and landscape management in Brandenburg 8, booklet 2 (supplement); 1999.
Web links
Mangora acalypha in the World Spider Catalog
- Mangora acalypha in Nentwig W., Blick T., Gloor D., Hänggi A., Kropf C .: Spiders of Europe. www.araneae.unibe.ch accessed on August 1, 2016