Eresus walckenaeri

Eresus walckenaeri
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Eresidae
Genus:	Eresus
Species:	E. walckenaeri
Binomial name
Eresus walckenaeri Brullé, 1832
Synonyms
List Eresus walckenaer Eresus audouin Eresus theis Eresus ctenizoides Eresus luridus Eresus puniceus Eresus pruinosus Eresus siculus Erythrophora punicea

Eresus walckenaerius is a species of ladybird spider from the eastern Mediterranean.

Description

While males are very similar to those of Eresus sandaliatus or Eresus cinnaberinus the females are up to 4 cm long. The females often have a red band on their opisthosoma. Adult males can be found from April to June.^[1]

Habits

Their strikingly pink webs are built below rocks. One egg sac contains several hundred eggs, and spiderlings seem to disperse much more than other Eresus species (using ballooning), so that they are not found in large clusters.

Distribution

This species is found on the southern Balkans, in southern Italy, in Turkey and on islands of the Aegean Sea.

Name

The species name is in honor of Charles Athanase Walckenaer.

Subspecies

Eresus walckenaeri moerens C. L. Koch, 1846 (Afghanistan)

References

1. Bellmann, H. (1997). Kosmos-Atlas Spinnentiere Europas. Kosmos.