Pisaura mirabilis

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Pisaura mirabilis
Nursery web spider (Pisaura mirabilis) 2.jpg
Female carrying egg sack
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Pisauridae
Genus: Pisaura
Species:
P. mirabilis
Binomial name
Pisaura mirabilis
On Plantago lanceolata Pisaura mirabilis on Plantago lanceolata.jpg
On Plantago lanceolata
Female Pisaura mirabilis Pisaura mirabilis-mf.jpg
Female Pisaura mirabilis

The nursery web spider Pisaura mirabilis is a spider species of the family Pisauridae.

Contents

Description

Striking characteristics of Pisaura mirabilis are its long legs (the fourth pair being the longest) and its slender abdomen (opisthosoma). The male is between 10 and 13 mm, while the female is 12 to 15 mm. [1] After final ecdysis, the male spiders weigh on average 54 mg and females 68 mg.

The prosoma (cephalothorax) is variable in color, ranging from light to reddish brown and from gray to black. A lighter stripe is visible down the middle of the prosoma. The opisthosoma (abdomen) is long and narrow and tapered towards the rear end.

The female spiders has a dark patch (epigyne) on the underside of her abdomen that includes the copulatory organs. Male genital openings can be found at the same location, but remain inconspicuous.

Patterning and coloration varies due to polymorphism. [2] [3] [4] These patterns, which can be caused by hair and pigments, change with the growth of the spider (ontogenesis). [5]

Male spiders are stronger in contrast than females and look black, especially in comparison to the white nuptial gifts. Females tend to get paler towards the end of summer. The stripe along the back of the body can be found in all spiders and can be seen as crypsis, a protective measure against predators.

Pisaura mirabilis Pisaura mirabilis 03 (MK).jpg
Pisaura mirabilis

The pedipalps in nymphs and females look similar to legs. In males, this structure gets thicker towards the end and is used to store sperm until reproduction (bulbus). The outer chelicerae segment consists of three teeth. They catch their prey during the day and at night and are also active on warm winter days.

Habitat and distribution

Pisaura mirabilis has a palearctic distribution, [6] and can be found all over Europe. These spiders inhabit the Canary Islands and Madeira, the Asian part of Russia, China and North Africa. [7] [8]

P. mirabilis lives in all habitats, but prefers wet environments, such as wet meadows, lowland moors, salt marshes, dunes, the edge of forests, and wet hedges. It inhabits all strata, from the ground to the top of trees, but are not found under rocks or in caves. These spiders can be found at altitudes up to 1500 m.[ citation needed ]

Life cycle

The spider develops from a fertilised egg inside a cocoon into an embryo. After inversion, the embryo enters the prelarval stage. A few hours later, the prelarva moults into a larva. [9] At this stage, the spiders are colorless but mobile, and can detect sensory signals from its surrounding. They do not have any eyes yet and their chelicerae are short and sharp. A few fine hairs can be found on their feet.

Depending on the temperature, the larvae moult after 4.5 – 7.5 days into the first nymphal stage. Once leaving the cocoon through an opening, they live in a protective web made by the mother, where they feed on the leftover yolk from their eggs and drink from water droplets. After about a week, the nymphs start suspending themselves from their own spider silk and start preying on fruit flies. This usually happens in the sixth or seventh nymphal stage. Cannibalism does not occur in the first few days, but occurs in later stages. The whole nymphal stage is divided into 12 stages at most. Male spiders become sexually mature in the 9th to 11th stages, females in the 10th to 12th stages. Temperature can influence the development and number of stages, with colder temperatures slowing down the process. Under good conditions, spiders can complete their nymphal development in fewer than 12 stages. [10] The duration from prelarval stage to final moult (maturity) typically lasts 257 days for males (stage 10) and 289 days for females (stage 11). Adulthood is the period after final moult till death. Females live longer than males, the record being 247 days for females and 186.5 days for males.

Depending on habitat, nursery web spiders hibernate once or twice during the nymphal stage. The period of hibernation (diapause) is spent in ground vegetation under leaves, moss, and stones. They can be found in garages and houses, as well. Some individuals in the south of France have been found under loose bark of the plane tree. The nymphs in stages 6 to 8 start hibernating in November and continue with their development towards the end of February to the beginning of March.

Pisaura mirabilis in Western and Central Europe reach sexual maturity in May, when sperm uptake, the search for females, offering of nuptial gifts, and courtship and mating takes place. In Northern and Eastern Europe, spiders reach sexual maturity only in June, while in Southern Europe, they become sexually mature in April.

Nursery web spiders have a one-year annual cycle in southern Europe. They grow in summer, hibernate in winter, reach adulthood in spring, and reproduce and then die in autumn. Their offspring are sexually mature in the following spring. Spiders from the north have a two-year cycle, having to go through two hibernations before reaching sexual maturity. Spiders in Western and Central Europe have a mix of both one- and two-year cycles. Males have a two-month period to reproduce; females three and a half.

Mating system

Males of this species offer a nuptial gift to potential female mates. Some Pisaura mirabilis specimens have also been observed to use thanatosis during courtship. [11] After presenting the nuptial gift to the female, she bites on to the gift and the male moves to her epigyne to deposit sperm with his pedipalps. Throughout copulation, the male keeps a leg on the gift so as to be ready if she tries to escape with it or attack him. At this time, the male may feign death – his limbs become straight and he is dragged along with the female while holding on to the gift. When the female stops, the male slowly "resurrects" and continues attempting to mate. [11] Thanatosis in P. mirabilis has been observed to significantly increase the male's odds of successfully copulating from less than 30% to 89%. [11] [12]

Predators, parasites, and pathogens

Predators of Pisaura mirabilis includes spider wasps, tree frogs, lizards, and song birds during the day, and toads, shrew mice, and bats at night. Other spider species, as well as from the same species (cannibalism), consider P. mirabilis as prey.

Nursery web spiders are often parasitised by nematodes, parasitic wasps, and Acari. These parasites infect the spider and its eggs and cocoons, which can lead to destruction of a whole clutch of eggs.[ citation needed ]

Baculoviridae and Rickettsia species infect nursery web spiders, as well. They most likely enter the gastrointestinal tract via the spiders' prey. Not only can nymphs and adults be infected, but different stages in the cocoon are infected, as well.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nursery web spider</span> Family of spiders

Nursery web spiders (Pisauridae) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1890. They resemble wolf spiders (Lycosidae) except for several key differences. Wolf spiders have two very prominent eyes in addition to the other six, while a nursery web spider's eyes are all about the same size. Additionally, female nursery web spiders carry their egg sacs with their jaws and pedipalps instead of attaching them to their spinnerets as wolf spiders do. When the eggs are about to hatch, a female spider builds a nursery "tent", places her egg sac inside, and stands guard outside, hence the family's common name. Like the wolf spiders, however, the nursery web spiders are roaming hunters that don't use webs for catching prey.

<i>Dolomedes</i> Genus of spiders

Dolomedes is a genus of large spiders of the family Pisauridae. They are also known as fishing spiders, raft spiders, dock spiders or wharf spiders. Almost all Dolomedes species are semiaquatic, with the exception of the tree-dwelling D. albineus of the southeastern United States. Many species have a striking pale stripe down each side of the body.

<i>Philaeus chrysops</i> Species of spider

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raft spider</span> Species of spider

The raft spider, scientific name Dolomedes fimbriatus, is a large semi-aquatic spider of the family Pisauridae found throughout north-western and central Europe. It is one of only two species of the genus Dolomedes found in Europe, the other being the slightly larger Dolomedesplantarius which is endangered in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cribellum</span>

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<i>Aculepeira ceropegia</i> Species of spider

Aculepeira ceropegia, the oak spider, is an orb-weaving spider species belonging to the family Araneidae.

Spider behavior refers to the range of behaviors and activities performed by spiders. Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms which is reflected in their large diversity of behavior.

<i>Pisaura</i> Genus of spiders

Pisaura is a genus of Eurasian spiders in the family Pisauridae.

<i>Ancylometes</i> Genus of spiders

Ancylometes is a genus of Central and South American semiaquatic wandering spiders first described by Philipp Bertkau in 1880. Originally placed with the nursery web spiders, it was moved to the Ctenidae in 1967. The genus name is derived in part from Ancient Greek "ἀγκύλος", meaning "crooked, bent".

<i>Evarcha falcata</i> Species of spider

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual cannibalism</span> Practice of animals eating their own mating partners

Sexual cannibalism is when an animal, usually the female, cannibalizes its mate prior to, during, or after copulation. It is a trait observed in many arachnid orders and several insect orders. Several hypotheses to explain this seemingly paradoxical behavior have been proposed. The adaptive foraging hypothesis, aggressive spillover hypothesis and mistaken identity hypothesis are among the proposed hypotheses to explain how sexual cannibalism evolved. This behavior is believed to have evolved as a manifestation of sexual conflict, occurring when the reproductive interests of males and females differ. In many species that exhibit sexual cannibalism, the female consumes the male upon detection. Females of cannibalistic species are generally hostile and unwilling to mate; thus many males of these species have developed adaptive behaviors to counteract female aggression.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great raft spider</span> Species of spider

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese water spider</span> Subspecies of spider

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six-spotted fishing spider</span> Species of spider

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References

  1. "Pisaura mirabilis". Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  2. Carl Wilhelm Hahn (Hrsg.: Peter Sacher), Monographie der Spinnen (1820–1836) – Mit einem Kommentar in deutsch und englisch herausgegeben von Peter Sacher, Reprint der Orig.-Ausg. Nürnberg 1820–1836, Zentralantiquariat der DDR, Leipzig 1988, S. 1–143, ISBN   3-7463-0080-0, hier S. 67 (unter "Dolomodes mirabilis, Walkenaer"), S. 71, Tafel 18 (unter „Dolomedes mirabilis, Walkenaer“)
  3. Carl Wilhelm Hahn, Die Arachniden – Getreu nach der Natur abgebildet und beschrieben, Zweiter Band, C. H. Zeh'sche Buchhandlung, Nürnberg 1834, hier S. 35 Originalexemplar von Oxford University Google Books
  4. W. Bösenberg, Die Spinnen Deutschlands, Zoologica – Original-Abhandlungen aus dem Gesamtgebiete der Zoologie, 14 [1901–1903], (35), Fünfte und sechste Lieferung [1903], Nägele, Stuttgart 1903, S. 385–465, hier S. 410
  5. Rupert Aechter, Untersuchungen über die Zeichnung und Färbung der Araneen unter Berücksichtigung der Ontogenese und Phylogenie, Sitzungsberichte – Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften – Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Klasse – Abteilung I, 164, (8), 1955, S. 545–606, hier v. a. S. 545–606, 591–593
  6. "Pisaura mirabilis". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  7. P. Blandin: Etudes sur les Pisauridae africaines. I-XI. Rev. Suisse Zool. 81, Rev. Zool. afr. 89–93, 1974–1979
  8. P. Blandin: Cycle biologique et production de l'araignée Afropisaura valida (Simon 1885)(Araneae, Pisauridae) dans une savane d'Afrique occidentale (Lamto, Côte-d'Ivoire). Trop. Ecol. 20: 78–93, 1974
  9. Foelix, Rainer (2010). Biology of Spiders. Oxford University Press. p. 270.
  10. Nentwig, Wolfgang (2012). Ecophysiology of Spiders. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 333.
  11. 1 2 3 Hansen, S. H., Gonzalez S. F., Toft, S., & Bilde, T. (2008). Thanatosis as an adaptive male mating strategy in the nuptial gift-giving spider Pisaura mirabilis. Behavioral Ecology 19: 546–551. doi : 10.1093/beheco/arm165
  12. "Spiders play dead to get laid". New Scientist magazine . No. 2645. February 27, 2008. p. 19.

Further reading

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