Flower yellow spider. Green spiders in Russia: photos of appearance and names of arthropods White spider with red stripes on the sides

The bulk of the food is flies, which are a breeding ground for many harmful bacteria.

The venom of side-walking spiders is planned to be used as pesticides in the future.

Frequent prey of the side-walking spider are agricultural pests: meadow moths, dipterous apple honeysuckers, aphids, bedbugs, and weevils.

In medicine, research is being conducted on spider venom for the treatment of arrhythmia, Alzheimer's disease, erectile dysfunction, and stroke.

What to do if you are bitten

Sidewalk spiders are not dangerous to humans, but their bite is still unpleasant due to the following symptoms:

• redness, swelling, itching and burning of the bite site;
• headache;
• dizziness;
• weakness.

If you are bitten by a sidewalk spider, it is enough to apply ice to the wound and take antihistamines. The bite site can be treated with “Star” balm or Fenistil-gel.

We often mistake spiders for ordinary insects, but this is wrong. They have poisonous glands containing toxins at their disposal. All types of sidewalk spiders must be handled carefully to avoid the unpleasant sensations that bites from these little ones cause.

Animals

Arthropods

Arachnids

Sidewalk spiders

Misumena

Mizumena clubfoot

Misumena vatia(Clerck, 1757)

Mizumena clubfoot, or Flower spider (lat. Misumena vatia) - a spider of the family of side-walking spiders ( Thomisidae).

Description

The female is 9-11 mm long; male - 3-4 mm. The abdomen is wide and thick, its greatest width in the posterior third. The color of the abdomen is extremely variable. Females are most often white or yellow, there are also greenish and pinkish individuals, the cephalothorax is reddish-yellow, with a white median field. White specimens sometimes have reddish spots on the sides of the abdomen in the front. The color of the spider changes depending on the surrounding background. In order to change color from white to yellow, a spider needs from 10 to 25 days, the reverse transformation is completed in 5-6 days. In males, the cephalothorax is dark brown or brown-black, with a white median stripe. The abdomen is white or yellow on top, bordered on the sides with black, and in the back with two dark parallel strokes. The legs are motley.

Spreading

The species is widespread throughout the former Soviet Union, in Europe and North America.

Habitats and lifestyle

Sexually mature individuals appear in late spring, males live until mid-summer, and females until mid-autumn. They live on white and yellow flowers (especially often on plants of the genus Ranunculus, European bathwort and Siberian hogweed). Usually these spiders sit in ambush inside a flower or next to it. Thanks to its thick abdomen, resembling a petal, the spider is invisible in flower thickets. Males are also found in grass and bushes.

Literature

• Azheganova N. S. A brief guide to spiders (Aranei) of the forest and forest-steppe zones of the USSR. - L.: Science, 1968. - P. 117
• Sayfulina R. R., Kartsev V. M. Spiders middle zone Russia: Atlas-identifier. - M.: ZAO “Fiton+”, 2001. - P. 410
• Tyshchenko V. P. Key to spiders of the European part of the USSR. - L.: Publishing house “Nauka”, 1971. - P. 118 (Series “Key guides to the fauna of the USSR”, issue 105)

Wasp Spider, or Argiope Bruennichi (lat. Argiope bruennichi) is an arthropod that belongs to the class Arachnids, order Spiders, suborder Opisthothelae, infraorder Araneomorpha spiders, superfamily Araneoidea, family Orb-weaving spiders, subfamily Argiopinae, genus Argiope.

International scientific name: Argiope bruennichi (Scopoli, 1772).

The species name for the spider was given in honor of Morten Trane Brünnich, a zoologist from Denmark. Due to its warning coloration with black and yellow stripes, this representative of arachnids is often found under the name wasp spider, and in some countries it is called the tiger spider or zebra spider. Some people incorrectly call it the bee spider.

Spider wasp - description, structure, characteristics.

The body of the wasp spider, like that of others, consists of a cephalothorax and abdomen, which are connected by a thin stalk. The cephalothorax, which contains the brain, poisonous glands and stomach, is covered with a hard shell. The spider has no antennae. The 8 eyes of the wasp spider are located in the front of the cephalothorax.

Argiope Brünnich is a spider with pronounced sexual dimorphism: females and males of the species differ significantly in shape, size and body color. The body size of adult females is about 1.1-2.5 cm in length (with straightened legs up to 4 cm), while males barely grow to 5.5 mm (according to some sources up to 7 mm). The abdomen of a female wasp spider has a rounded-oblong shape; in males, the abdomen is elongated and narrow. The cephalothorax of females is wide and flat, light brown, with a darkened head region. The cephalothorax is covered with small, dense, white-silver hairs and therefore appears silver.

Female wasp spiders are very brightly colored and therefore clearly visible: the dorsal pattern of their abdomen is an intense yellow background with rows of black transverse stripes, very similar to the color of the abdomen or. On the fourth stripe from the cephalothorax, two small tubercles are clearly visible.

The male wasp spider is inconspicuous, does not look like a wasp at all and is painted in a light beige color, on which 2 longitudinal dark stripes are barely visible.

The wasp spider has 6 pairs of limbs: 4 pairs of walking legs, 1 pair of chelicerae (jaws) with movable claws, with which the striped spider grabs prey, and 1 pair of pedipalps, which perform the function of touch. In individuals of both sexes, the legs are long and thin, brownish in color. The limbs of females are decorated with alternating bright dark and light rings, very similar to stockings. In males, the rings on the limbs are faded and blurred. On the pedipalps of male wasp spiders, large bulbs are clearly visible - their reproductive organs.

The respiratory organs of the wasp spider are represented by a pair of lungs and tracheas, opening with one spiracle in front of the arachnoid warts.

Where does the wasp spider (Argiope Brünnich) live?

The wasp spider is a fairly numerous species. It is widespread in the countries of North Africa, Lesser and Central Asia, in India, China, Korea, Japan and the USA. It is also a common arachnid in the Central and Southern Europe, in Kazakhstan, Crimea and the Caucasus. In Russia, the spider wasp was noticed in several regions: Chelyabinsk, Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Tambov, Oryol, Lipetsk, Penza and Bryansk. Probably due to the increase average annual temperature air Argiope Brünnich also began to be noticed in the Tula, Ryazan regions and in the Moscow region. According to the latest data, the black and yellow wasp spider began to appear in Kaluga region, as well as in the Novgorod region on the territory belonging to the Rdeisky Nature Reserve.

The favorite habitats of the wasp spider are located in areas exposed to the sun: fields, lawns, along roadsides, forest clearings and forest edges. The black-and-yellow striped wasp spider places its hunting nets on various low vegetation, giving particular preference to xerophilous plants growing in especially dry areas of the area.

A unique feature of all orb weavers, including the wasp spider, is their ability to move considerable distances thanks to their web threads, picked up by rising air currents. This manner of settlement has led to the fact that some southern populations often end up on northern territories.

Argiope Brünnich's web.

Like all orb weavers, the wasp spider is fluent in the art of weaving webs, and its spiral trapping nets are large wheel-shaped nets with two pronounced stabilimentums in the middle.

The stabilimentum is a thickened zigzag pattern on the web, which can have different shapes: linear, circular, cruciform.

A notable feature of the wasp spider’s web is that there are two such patterns at once, which diverge from the middle and are located opposite each other. Scientists have found that the main reason for such artistic weaving is the ability of a multilayer insert to reflect ultraviolet rays, thereby attracting insects.

The wasp spider weaves a complex web of multilayer threads due to the structure of the limbs characteristic of orb-weavers. Last pair The leg, equipped with three simple claws and serrated setae, has a special spike-shaped appendage that allows it to weave intricate networks from individual threads.

The female, sitting in the center of the web (usually upside down), resembles the letter “X” because her widely spaced legs of the first and second, as well as the third and fourth pairs are placed very close to each other.

The wasp spider, like most representatives of the order, weaves its web at dusk, and the whole process lasts no more than an hour. Typically, the web stretches between plants no higher than 30 cm from the surface of the ground. In case of danger, a disturbed wasp spider throws its catching nets and tries to hide on the ground.

What does a wasp spider eat?

The strong trapping nets of the wasp spider most often catch representatives of the order Orthoptera: crickets, etc. Argiope Brünnich also preys on fillies. The feeding method of the Argiope spider is typical for most arachnids: as soon as the prey insect is in the nets, the spider quickly approaches and bites the victim, injecting poison into it. Then he entangles the future “dinner” with the threads of his web and waits until, under the influence of digestive enzymes, the caught prey becomes suitable for consumption. After this, it simply sucks up the liquid food, leaving only the chitinous shell of the insect.

Spiders are arthropods that belong to the class of arachnids. Representatives of this class, today, there are about 40 thousand species. They differ from each other in their way of life, appearance, and type of nutrition. In nature there are a wide variety of types of spiders: the smallest and harmless spiders(0.37 mm), as well as the most dangerous spiders and even the most poisonous spiders in the world (up to 25 cm). And in this article we will tell you about several amazing and interesting species.

Tarantula spider – Theraphosidae

The tarantula spider is perhaps the most big spider in the world, or rather the family of tarantula spiders (Theraphosidae). Some members of this family can reach 30.5 cm in leg span, such as the king baboon, black tarantula and purple tarantula. The body of tarantulas is always densely covered with long and short hairs. Body color can be either gray-brown or bright colors (red, blue, red). Tarantulas live in countries with hot climates (Africa, South America, Oceania, Australia). These spiders inhabit abandoned nests of birds and rodents or dig holes near tree trunks. They are active mainly in the evening. Then they go hunting or catch a prey running nearby. Tarantulas feed on insects, small birds and rodents. These spiders breed in late summer. The female lays eggs in a cobweb cocoon, which she carries with her and does not lose sight of. They protect the offspring, so that the spiderlings that emerge from the cocoon sit on the mother’s abdomen for some time. But soon they begin to lead an independent life. The tarantula's venom paralyzes the victim and decomposes its entrails, then the spider sucks out the contents of the victim's body. For humans, the tarantula's venom is not dangerous, but quite painful. The bite site bakes, hurts and swells, sometimes becomes yellow. But these symptoms go away after a few weeks.

Cross spider – Araneus

Crossworts are members of the orb weaver family (Araneidae). They belong to the contract web spiders. They have an egg-shaped convex abdomen, on which there is a pattern in the form of a cross. Body color ranges from gray to red. They are covered with long bristles, sparsely distributed over the body and densely covered with short, thin hairs. Body length in males is 10-11 mm, in females – 17-40 mm. About 30 species of crosses live in the CIS and Russia. These spiders are active in the evening. They deftly weave webs that catch many small insects. Mating and egg laying occurs in the fall. The female lays eggs in a cobweb cocoon and hides it under the bark or other secluded place. In the spring, spiderlings emerge from the cocoon. By the end of summer, a new generation of spiders grows up, and their mother dies. The cross spider is poisonous, but it is not dangerous to humans. Its bite is painful, but the burning and swelling at the site of the bite goes away after a few hours.

Karakurt spider - Latrodectus tredecimguttatus

This is not a large black spider at all. The body of the female (10-20 mm) is completely black, which is why she is also called a black widow, the body of the male (4-7 mm) is also black, but with bright red spots on the abdomen (usually 13 spots ). The karakurt spider lives in Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, and on the shores of Mediterranean Sea, V North Africa, Southern Europe, Kazakhstan, southern Russia and Ukraine. They prefer the slopes of ravines, virgin wormwood, wastelands, and the banks of irrigation ditches. Karakurts inhabit abandoned rodent burrows and ventilation systems, entwining the entrance with cobwebs. In such dens, females and males mate at the end of summer. The female lays her eggs in a cocoon of cobwebs and hangs it in her den. In spring, spiderlings emerge from cocoons. Karakurts feed small insects. Their venom is toxic to large animals and people. There is a burning sensation and swelling at the site of the bite. After 10-15 minutes, the poison spreads throughout the body and the person experiences pain in the chest and abdominal area. Dizziness, nausea, sweating, rapid heartbeat, and delirium also occur. And if you don’t provide it in time medical care, death is possible (in most cases). Karakurt bites through the skin only 0.5 mm, so it is recommended to cauterize the bite site with a lit match within 2 minutes after the bite.

White karakurt - Latrodectus pallidus

Image of white karakurt

This is a white spider, with long legs and a round abdomen. The abdomen is white or milky in color, with 4 indentations. The legs and cephalothorax are yellow or light brown. White spider has a body 10-20 mm long. Females are larger than males. White spiders weave a web in the shape of a cone, which is connected to a trapping net. They live in North Africa, the Middle East, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. The white karakurt spider is not aggressive, but its poison is toxic and can cause complications. Children and the elderly are most susceptible to the effects of the poison. Toxicological studies have shown that the poison of the white karakurt is similar to the poison of the karakurt (Latrodectus tredecimtugattus). If you are bitten by this spider, you should consult a doctor.

Camel spider - Camel spider

The camel spider has many names: phalanges, bihors, salpugs, barbers, barbers, wind scorpion. The body (5-7 cm) is slightly oblong, light and dark red, densely covered with long, thin hairs. The camel spider's body shape is similar to a scorpion, especially with its chelicerae (claws). With them he is able to bite through a human nail and even small bird bones. He also uses his chelicerae to trim hairs and feathers from his victims and place them in his home. The camel spider lives in the desert regions of Asia, Africa, America, and Europe. Phalanx spider nocturnal predator. It is practically omnivorous and carnivorous, feeding on various insects, rodents, and lizards. Camel spiders have eyes like scorpions: 2 compound eyes in the middle and one on each side of the cephalothorax. Compound eyes are highly responsive to movement, so these spiders are incredibly fast, up to 53 cm/s (1.9 km/h).
The camel spider is not poisonous, but it does have an incredibly painful bite. And also on its chelicerae the remains of the tissues of the previous victim can rot, which can cause serious inflammation.

Jumping spiders – Salticidae

Jumping spiders or jumping spiders are a family of araneomorphic spiders that includes 610 genera and 5,800 species. They live in tropical forests, deserts, semi-deserts, temperate zone forests and mountains. These are small spiders, up to 2 cm long. The body is pubescent. These spiders have well-developed vision. They have 8 eyes, thanks to which they see 360º degrees. Jumping spiders differ from each other in body shape, color and range. There are the following types of jumping spiders:
- the golden jumping spider lives in the south-east of Asian countries, and is characterized by a long abdominal part and a large first pair of legs. The body has a very peculiar golden color. The length of the male rarely exceeds 76 mm, and the females are larger;

- Himalayan jumping spiders are the smallest spiders. They live high above sea level, in the Himalayas, where their only prey is the occasional small insect that is blown onto mountain slopes by strong winds;

- The green jumping spider lives in New Guinea, New South Wales and Queensland. Often found in Western Australia. The male has a very bright color, and his body is decorated with long “whiskers” white;

- The red-backed species of jumping spider settles in relatively dry areas. The red spider is often found on coastal dunes or oak woodlands in North America. These red spiders are unique in that they are able to build tube-like silken nests under rocks and on the surface of vines;

- the species Hyllus Diardi has a body up to 1.3 cm long. Compared to other types of jumping spiders, it does not weave a web, therefore, to catch prey, it attaches a silk thread to some support, and then jumps from such a peculiar “bungee” onto its victim;

- the ant jumping spider looks very similar to an ant and is most often found in tropical zones from Africa to central Australia. Body color can vary from light yellow to black.

Jumping spiders are unique in that they can jump long distances (up to 20 times their body size). Before jumping, they cling to the substrate with a web (thus securing their jump), then push their body out with their hind legs. Jumping spiders are absolutely harmless to humans. They have poison, but it has no effect on humans, and their bite is almost painless.

Argiope bruennichi or spider wasp - Argiope bruennichi

Argiope has the second name of the wasp spider, since the color of the body and the shape of the abdomen resemble a wasp. Body length 2-3 cm (leg span). The abdomen is elongated with bright stripes, the predominant colors are yellow, white, and black. The legs are long, thin, and mostly in an X-shaped position. The spider wasp lives in Kazakhstan, Asia Minor, Central Asia, China, Korea, India and Japan, North Africa, Southern and Central Europe, Crimea, and the Caucasus. These spiders are also found quite often in Russia. Argiope belongs to the spiders of the orb-weaving spider family (Araneidae). It is typical for these spiders to weave a wheel-shaped web, and have a stabilimentum (zigzag pattern) in the center. This is a forest spider. It very often settles on lawns, forests, gardens, in tall grass, between tree branches. The wasp spider feeds on various insects. Mating occurs after the female has moulted, while her body remains soft. The female lays eggs in a large cocoon (outwardly resembling a plant seed pod) and places it next to the hunting web. Spiderlings emerge from the cocoon at the beginning of autumn and settle downwind on cobwebs. The wasp spider is not dangerous to humans. Its venom may only cause slight redness, swelling and pain, but these symptoms go away very quickly.

Wolf spiders – Lycosidae

Wolf spiders are a family of araneomorph spiders that number 2,367 species. The body color is usually gray-brown. The body is covered with small short hairs. Some species reach more than 3 cm (leg span). The wolf spider lives almost everywhere except Antarctica. He prefers rain forests, meadows, hiding under fallen leaves, stones, wood. They don't weave webs. These are earth spiders, so they live in a hole, which is only entwined with cobwebs inside. If this is the private sector, you can easily stumble upon it in the basement. If there is a vegetable garden nearby, he can easily get into your cellar. Active at night. The wolf spider hunts insects or catches those who run near its burrow. This spider is a good jumper. He can jump on the victim, securing himself with a web. Mating occurs in the summer. After mating, the female lays eggs in a cocoon that she wears at the end of her abdomen. After 2-3 weeks, the spiderlings emerge from the cocoon and climb onto their mother’s abdomen. They sit like this until they learn to get their own food. The wolf spider is not dangerous to humans. Its bite is equivalent to a bee sting, which causes itching, swelling and redness, which disappears fairly quickly.

Harvesting spiders – Pholcidae

This family has about 1000 species of spiders. Harvesting spiders have a small body and long thin legs. Body size 2-10 mm. The length of the legs reaches 50 mm. Body color is grayish or reddish. Harvesting spiders are ubiquitous. Some species live in people's homes. There they find warm and dry places, mainly near windows. They feed on small insects. These spiders weave large webs in a chaotic manner. The web is not sticky, but when the victim tries to get out of it, it becomes even more entangled. After mating, females lay eggs in a web cocoon, which they attach to the side of the trapping nets. For humans, harvest spiders are absolutely harmless. Their venom is safe, and the bite cannot be felt.

Goliath tarantula - Theraphosa blondi

This giant spider considered the largest in the world. The span of its legs reaches 30 cm. In Venezuela (1965), one of the representatives of this species was listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Its leg span was 28 cm. It is believed that the leg span of Heteropoda maxima is even longer, up to 35 cm. But this type has a small body and long thin legs. So he is small compared to the massive goliath.
The body of the goliath is light or dark brown, densely covered with short hairs. They live in burrows, the entrance of which is covered with cobwebs. This one lives huge spider in the tropical forests of Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, and northern Brazil. It feeds on various insects, rodents, frogs, lizards and even snakes. The life expectancy of females is 15-25 years, males - 3-6. These spiders are amazing in that they are able to make a hissing sound by rubbing their chelicerae; the ability to shake hairs from the abdomen into the enemy’s face, which cause swelling of the mucous membrane. The goliath tarantula also has large and sharp chelicerae (claws), with which it can bite very painfully. Their venom is not dangerous to humans; the symptoms are the same as after a bee sting.

Runner spider (soldier spider, banana spider, wandering spider) – Phoneutria

The Brazilian spider is the most poisonous spider in the world. The length of its body reaches 15 cm. The body is pubescent, gray-brown in color. It lives in Central and South America. The runner spider feeds on insects, frogs, lizards, and small birds. Lives in burrows, under leaf litter. But very often, secluded places in people’s homes become its home. It is often called banana because it is often found in boxes of bananas. These scary spiders have incredibly toxic venom that causes instant death, which is why they are the most poisonous spiders in the world. Their venom contains the neurotoxin PhTx3, which paralyzes all muscles in the human body, causing suffocation and then death. Only 2-6 hours pass between the bite and death. Old people and children are most exposed to the runner spider's venom. Today there is a vaccine that neutralizes the effect of the poison, so if you are bitten by a spider, you should immediately consult a doctor.

As you can see, representatives of arachnids are so different: some of them are pleasing to the eye, while the sight of others makes the blood freeze in your veins, some can be picked up or kept in your home as a pet, and some sow fear and bring instant death. Now you know which types of spiders are absolutely harmless and which ones you need to stay away from. The good news is that dangerous species Spiders are not found in our area, but mainly in tropical countries. But you never know what can happen... Nature is absolutely unpredictable.