Steatoda
Female fat spider ( S. bipunctata )
The fat spiders ( Steatoda ) are a more than 120 kinds comprehensive spider genus of the family of cobweb spiders.
Appearance and occurrence
The spiders are mostly dark brown, sometimes reddish; her body looks greasy shiny, so presumably her name. Some species have, in particular due to their spherical appearance and sometimes similar distinctive, colored drawings on the abdomen ( see picture below, right) a deceptive resemblance to the also belonging to the family Theridiidae widow spiders ( Latrodectus ) on. Fat spiders are not hazardous but usually noticeably smaller and for the people. The largest species ( S. bipunctata, S. Hespera ) reach a body length of 8 mm (without legs), but in the majority of cases, fat spiders are smaller.
Nevertheless, they are able to overpower prey that can be greater essential Herself - not excluding other spiders - if they fly, fall into the power of a fat spider, or run into the guy ropes. Your on the glance confused or muddled appearing networks build the predominantly nocturnal, very shy animals often in buildings, here in sufficiently protected corners, or in the field, then usually near the ground, such as under rocks, or in rock crevices.
System
The genus is represented worldwide is very rich in species, with their distribution area is located in the tropics. In Central Europe the following species have so far been found:
- S. bipunctata (Linnaeus, 1758), often in houses, rocks, mountains up to 2000 m;
- S. albomaculata ( De Geer, 1778), sometimes frequently in dry and sunny places to the mountains (2500 m);
- S. Grossa ( CL Koch, 1838), cosmopolitan, in Central Europe only in houses and cellars;
- S. triangulosa ( Walckenaer, 1802), rarely missing in Northern Europe, in the south only on warm bodies;
- S. castanea ( Clerck, 1757) on buildings and less likely to warm the edges of woods.
- S. paykulliana ( Walckenaer, 1805)
- S. nobilis ( Thorell, 1875), originally native only in south-western Europe, but was introduced in the second half of the 19th century, probably with banana shipments from the Canary Islands to England and spreads slowly from there.