Zygiella x-notata

Zygiella x - notata (females )

The sector spider or spider sector ( Zygiella x - notata ) is a web spider of the family of the Real orb-weaving spiders ( Araneidae ).

Features

The sector spider has a body length of 5 to 11 mm. Your tan body carries a leaf-like drawing on the abdomen ( opisthosoma ).

Occurrence

The sector spider is widespread throughout central Europe, east facing it is rare.

The sector spider builds its web often to window frames, inside and outside of buildings, but also to house walls, in alcoves, bars or angles in stacks of wood and old trees. Because it requires heat, it is common in human settlements, for example, found at outdoor lighting. The females are among the few web spiders that build most of the year over networks.

Adult sector spiders to discover from midsummer to late autumn. In the southern warmer areas they are active throughout the year and also live there unprotected, eg in bushes.

Network construction

The adult sector spider builds an orb web, which is different from that of other orb-weavers by two spiral threads of free, contiguous sectors in one of the two upper corners. Only a strong, silken signal thread runs centrally between the two sectors from the center of the network to the outside. In this corner, her lair, waiting for the sector spider until the signal thread indicates that prey has gone into the net. By night, however, she sits like most orb-weaving spiders in the center of the network. In the morning hours the power is renewed. This type of network allows the sector spider to install it on very flat surfaces.

A medium-sized network comprises about 25 to 30 spokes threads. Sometimes it happens that sector cobwebs construction with full spiral threads. This is usually the case with young spinning but also in the adult, as the angle between the signal and spokes yarns becomes too large.

Nutrition

Feel the spider by shocks to the signal thread that prey is flown into their net, she quickly leaves her hiding place and first passes along the signal thread to the center of their network in order to orient themselves there. Then she quickly approaches the prey, touched it and bites it first, usually in the thoracic region. Only when the influx of prey are weaker they wrapped them in spider silk and drags her and secured with one leg ( the fourth pair of legs ) held in their hideout by a thread. If excessive vibration of the net, the spider takes refuge in their hiding or slumps secured by a thread.

Reproduction

Females and males are often to discover from midsummer to late fall together in a cocoon cavity. The better the male builds his nets, the pairing of willing is also the female. Plucks the mating and the male drumming in a mating thread which is attached to the power of the female. The data stored by the female eggs overwinter in a woven cocoon. Many females survive well into the winter, however, only takes the cocoon the winter. In the spring hatch, the young spiders.