Global InformationLarinioides sclopetarius information
| Larinioides sclopetarius | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Larinioides |
| Species: | L. sclopetarius
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| Binomial name | |
| Larinioides sclopetarius (Clerck, 1757)
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| Synonyms | |
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Araneus sclopetarius | |
Larinioides sclopetarius, commonly called bridge-spider [1] or gray cross-spider, is a relatively large orb-weaver spider with Holarctic distribution. These spiders originated in Europe, have been observed as south as the Mediterranean Coast and as north as Finland, and have been introduced to North America. They are often found on bridges, especially near light and over water.[2] The species tends to live on steel objects and is seldom seen on vegetation.[3][4] Females reach a body length of 10–14mm, and males 8–9mm.[2] Their orb webs can have diameters of up to 70 cm.
L. sclopetarius is attracted to light. Spiders found near light sources may be in better condition and have greater reproductive success than spiders living in unlit areas.[5] Most of these lighted areas are found in cities or other metropolitan areas. As a result, many urban areas have become saturated with these spiders. As many as 100 of these spiders can be found in a square meter in optimal feeding locations.[6]
L. sclopetarius often hide during the day, and wait for prey in the center of their web at night. In high-density populations, spiders may remain sedentary to protect their territories. Mature females and juvenile spiders will often build webs. However, adult males generally inhabit adult female webs. Males can be found mostly during summer, while females are active until November in Central Europe.
- ^ šEstáKová, Anna; Marusik, Yuri M.; Omelko, Mikhail M. (2014-11-11). "A revision of the Holarctic genus Larinioides Caporiacco, 1934 (Araneae: Araneidae)". Zootaxa. 3894 (1): 61. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3894.1.6. ISSN 1175-5334.
- ^ a b Roberts, Michael J. (1996) Collins Field Guide: Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe, AND NORTHERN MICHIGAN Collins, ISBN 978-0-00-219981-0, pp. 321–2
- ^ Nieuwenhuys, Ed (17 November 2013). "Orb web spiders or orb-weavers". Retrieved 3 September 2014.
- ^ šEstáKová, Anna; Marusik, Yuri M.; Omelko, Mikhail M. (2014-11-11). "A revision of the Holarctic genus Larinioides Caporiacco, 1934 (Araneae: Araneidae)". Zootaxa. 3894 (1): 61. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3894.1.6. ISSN 1175-5334.
- ^ Gomes, Dylan G.E. (2020-03-17). "Orb-weaving spiders are fewer but larger and catch more prey in lit bridge panels from a natural artificial light experiment". PeerJ. 8: e8808. doi:10.7717/peerj.8808. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 7083158. PMID 32211243.
- ^ Kralj-Fišer, Simona; Hebets, Eileen A.; Kuntner, Matjaž (2017-07-25). "Different patterns of behavioral variation across and within species of spiders with differing degrees of urbanization". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 71 (8): 125. doi:10.1007/s00265-017-2353-x. ISSN 1432-0762. S2CID 23043867.