| Clubiona subsultans | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Clubionidae |
| Genus: | Clubiona |
| Species: | C. subsultans |
| Binomial name | |
| Clubiona subsultans | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Clubiona subsultans, the Caledonian sac spider, [2] is a spider from the family Clubionidae with a Palearctic distribution. [1]
The body length of female Clubiona subsultans varies from 5–7 mm, that of males from 5–9 mm. [3] The tibial apophysis is pointed and has 2 barbs. The prosoma is golden-brown, the chelicerae are brownish and the legs yellow. The abdomen is reddish brown with yellow spots and a black median band with white arc-lines. [3]
Clubiona subsultans is normally found under stones and bark and in moss and litter, mostly in coniferous forests. [3] In Britain it is called Caledonian sac-spider because the native Scots pine forest is the normal habitat. Clubiona subsultans is associated with Caledonian pine woods, where it has been found under bark, on branches, in pine litter, among young pines, and on juniper growing as an under-storey within a pine wood. Recently it was found to have been the commonest spider caught in artificial nestbox traps which were put out in Abernethy Forest to survey for the bee Osmia uncinata . Adult male and female spiders have been found in June, the males also in September. [4]
Clubiona subsultans has a Palearctic distribution. [1] In Europe it is found in northern and central Europe. [4] In Great Britain this species is confined to relict patches of Caledonian Forest in north-central Scotland, [4] giving rise to the species common name of Caledonian sac spider.
In Scotland Clubiona subsultans is threatened by the loss of Caledonian pine forest, especially through the planting of Scots pine and non-native conifers in large blocks, which is sometimes preceded by the clear-felling of the native pine. To conserve this spider the management of the forest should be aimed at conserving the pine and other native trees. The natural regeneration of Scots pine should be allowed to proceed to give the typical open forest structure of the Caledonian forest. If regeneration is too dense then early thinning of the saplings may be needed to create glades. The main site at Abernethy is now a reserve of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and its primary aim is to develop a self-sustaining native pine forest over the whole potential woodland area. [4]
Beech (Fagus) is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, Engleriana and Fagus. The Engleriana subgenus is found only in East Asia, distinctive for their low branches, often made up of several major trunks with yellowish bark. The better known Fagus subgenus beeches are high-branching with tall, stout trunks and smooth silver-grey bark. The European beech is the most commonly cultivated.
Pinus sylvestris, Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), European red pine, or Baltic pine is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia, ranging from Western Europe to Eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains and Anatolia, and north to well inside the Arctic Circle in Fennoscandia. In the north of its range, it occurs from sea level to 1,000 m (3,300 ft), while in the south of its range it is a mountain tree, growing at 1,200–2,600 m (3,900–8,500 ft) altitude. It is readily identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orange-red bark.
The Thomisidae are a family of spiders, including about 175 genera and over 2,100 species. The common name crab spider is often linked to species in this family, but is also applied loosely to many other families of spiders. Many members of this family are also known as flower spiders or flower crab spiders.
Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae, are known by this name because of their speed and mode of hunting. They are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometimes are referred to as wood spiders, because of their preference for woody places. In southern Africa the genus Palystes are known as rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders. Commonly they are confused with baboon spiders from the Mygalomorphae infraorder, which are not closely related.
The sac spiders of the family Clubionidae have a very confusing taxonomic history. Once, this family was a large catch-all taxon for a disparate collection of spiders, similar only in that they had eight eyes arranged in two rows and conical anterior spinnerets that touched, and were wandering predators that built silken retreats, or sacs, usually on plant terminals, between leaves, under bark, or under rocks. These are now recognized to include several families, some of which are more closely related to the three-clawed spiders, like lynx and wolf spiders, than to Clubionidae and related families.
The Caledonian Forest is the name given to the former temperate rainforest of Scotland.
The bank vole is a small vole with red-brown fur and some grey patches, with a tail about half as long as its body. A rodent, it lives in woodland areas and is around 100 millimetres (3.9 in) in length. The bank vole is found in much of Europe and in northwestern Asia. It is native to Great Britain but not to Ireland, where it has been accidentally introduced, and has now colonised much of the south and southwest.
Glenmore Forest Park is a remnant of the Caledonian Forest near Aviemore in the Badenoch and Strathspey district of Highland, Scotland. Owned and managed by Forestry and Land Scotland, it lies within the Cairngorms National Park, and is one of six forest parks in the country. The forest park, which was established in 1948, covers 35.7 km2, of which 21.1 km2 is designated as a national nature reserve (NNR). Glenmore surrounds Loch Morlich, and is below the rise of the Cairngorms to the south; to the north the park extends to the summit of Meall a' Bhuachaille. The forest forms part of an expanse of Caledonian Forest that stretches from Glen Feshie to Abernethy, and which as a whole forms the largest single area of this habitat remaining in Scotland. It is home to much wildlife including Scottish crossbills, crested tits, capercaillie, narrow-headed ants, red squirrels and red deer.
Abernethy Forest is a remnant of the Caledonian Forest in Strathspey, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It lies within the Cairngorms National Park, close to the villages of Nethy Bridge, Boat of Garten, and Aviemore. The forest is an RSPB reserve, close to Loch Garten Osprey Centre, which is also owned by the RSPB. It is popular with walkers, as there are various trails throughout the reserve. The forest forms part of the wider Abernethy National Nature Reserve.
Steatoda nobilis is a spider in the genus Steatoda, known in the United Kingdom as the noble false widow and is often referred to as the false widow. As the common name indicates, the spider superficially resembles and is frequently confused for the black widow and other spiders in the genus Latrodectus. S. nobilis has medically significant venom, where in England, it has a reputation as one of the few local spider species that is capable of inflicting a painful bite to humans, with most bites resulting in symptoms similar to a bee or wasp sting.
Scotland is ideal for tree growth, thanks to its mild winters, plentiful rainfall, fertile soil and hill-sheltered topography. As of 2019 about 18.5% of the country was wooded. Although this figure is well below the European Union (EU) average of 43%, it represents a significant increase compared to the figure of 100 years previously: in 1919 it was estimated that only 5% of the country's total land area was covered in forest. The Scottish Government's Draft Climate Change Plan has set an aim of increasing coverage to 21% of Scotland by 2032, with the rate of afforestation rising to 15,000 hectares per year by 2024.
Clubiona corticalis, the bark sac spider, is a species of spider belonging to the family Clubionidae.
Basil Matthew Stuart Dunlop is a retired Chartered Forester, FICFor and author who lives in the Cairngorms National Park.
Xysticus ulmi, the swamp crab spider, is a European crab spider of the family Thomisidae which prefers damp habitats. It was first described by the German zoologist Carl Wilhelm Hahn in 1831.
Osmia uncinata, the pinewood mason bee, is a species of solitary bee from the family Megachilidae It is an Arctic-alpine species which is found in the northern Palearctic, in the United Kingdom it is a Biodiversity Action Plan priority species.
Zora spinimana is a prowling spider of the family Miturgidae with a Palearctic distribution. It is the type species of the genus Zora.
Zelotes subterraneus is a species of ground spider from the family Gnaphosidae which has a Palearctic distribution. it is the type species of the genus Zelotes. Its distribution may be somewhat masked by the difficulty of distinguishing this species from Zelotes apricorum and Zelotes latreillei.
Glen Tanar is a glen in Aberdeenshire, eastern Scotland, through which the Water of Tanar flows. Near the mouth of the glen, at Tower o' Ess, the Water of Tanar flows into the River Dee. This flows through Deeside into the North Sea at Aberdeen. Glen Tanar contains the third largest area of Caledonian Forest in Scotland, and is of national and European importance.
Glen Nant is glen lying to the south of Taynuilt in the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. An area of woodland of 339 hectares on the western side of the River Nant is designated as national nature reserve (NNR), which is owned and managed by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS). It is an example of an Atlantic Oakwood, and is one of largest areas of upland oak woodland in north Argyll.
Invereshie and Inshriach is a national nature reserve on the western flank of the Cairngorms in the Highland council area of Scotland. The reserve covers habitats at a range of different altitudes, ranging from Caledonian Forest beside the River Feshie in the west, via bog and open moorland, to an arctic-alpine environment on the Cairngorm plateau. The Munro summit of Sgòr Gaoith (1118 m) lies on the eastern boundary of the reserve. The forested areas of the reserve form part of an expanse of Caledonian pinewood that stretches from Glen Feshie to Abernethy, and which as a whole forms the largest single area of this habitat remaining in Scotland. The reserve is owned and managed jointly by NatureScot and Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS): NatureScot own the Invereshie portion of the reserve and FLS the Inshriach area.