| Meta bourneti | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female Mera bourneti on its egg sac | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Tetragnathidae |
| Genus: | Meta |
| Species: | M. bourneti |
| Binomial name | |
| Meta bourneti | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Meta bourneti is an orb weaving cave spider closely related to Meta menardi . [2]
Big sized spider (body length male: 10–13 mm; female: 13–16 mm), very similar in the external morphology to the congeneric Meta menardi. The prosoma is red-brown, with darker margin. Legs are red-brown. The opisthosoma is yellowish, laterally often completely black. [3]
Usually found in caves, in the twilight-zone. The species show a preference for cave walls and roofs, where it spin its orb-web. M. bourneti is able to consume a wide variety of prey items, including dipterans, moths, centipedes, woodlouse, and other cave-dwelling spiders. [4]
Female and juveniles are observed all year round. Males are rare, and usually found from August to December.
The eggsac (cocoon) is white, drop-shaped, and very similar to that of M. menardi (see [5] ). It is usually laid in the proximity of the cave entrance between October and November. The spiderlings hatch from the cocoon between January and February. [4]
It is found from Europe to Georgia and North Africa. [1]
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