Experimente zur Ionenregulation der Larve von Ephydra cinerea Jones (Dipt. )

New records of Larinia elegans (Araneae: Araneidae) from Czechia and North Macedonia with remarks on its ecology

“…The behaviour, time of occurrence and the habitat preferences of L. elegans in Czechia and North Macedonia, correspond with previously published studies (Nemenz & Pühringer 1973, Szinetár & Eichardt 2004, Šich & Rückl 2020). This orb-weaver builds its web at night and ingests it in the morning, which can be explained as a means to save water and components for building a new sticky web spiral (Opell 2021, Townley & Tillinghast 2013).…”

“…Unlike L. elegans , the co-occurring species Larinioides suspicax and Singa nitidula C. L. Koch, 1844 do not seem to have their webs exposed to the wind as often (personal observation), thus these spiders leave them until the following evening. According to Nemenz & Pühringer (1973) L. elegans does not need any web for hunting. However, these authors did not note at what time they observed the spiders feeding, so they most likely found individuals during the morning ritual of ingesting their webs.…”

“…Although the species inhabits a large area spanning from Austria to China, its known distribution is rather patchy and faunistic records relatively scarce. Until recently, in Europe it was only found in Austria (Nemenz & Pühringer 1973, Thaler & Knoflach 2003), Czechia (Šich & Rückl 2020, Řezáč et al 2021), Hungary (Szinetár & Eichardt 2004), Ukraine (Spassky 1939, Marusik 1986) and the southern part of Russia (Ponomarev et al 2011). This goes hand in hand with the affinity of L. elegans to larger shallow water bodies with a dense vegetation of reeds, a steppe-bound biotope found only locally across Europe (Nemenz & Pühringer 1973, Marusik 1986, Szinetár & Eichardt 2004, Šich & Rückl 2020).…”

“…Larinia elegans is a nocturnal species (Szinetár & Eichardt 2004), which makes a new orb web only when it is dark (Šich & Rückl 2020). During the day, the spiders hide in reed ears (Nemenz & Pühringer 1973, Šich & Rückl 2020), less often in reed stumps (Nemenz & Pühringer 1973). In Hungary, L. elegans was also found on Schoenoplectus litoralis (Schrad.)…”

“…Mating, which takes place in summer, is known for a phenomenon of female genitalia mutilation. During copulation, the males of some Larinia orb-weavers (including L. elegans ) tear off a part of the female's epigyne called the scapus (Nemenz & Pühringer 1973, Marusik 1986, Szinetár & Eichardt 2004). In this way, the male tries to monopolize the female because she can no longer mate with other males after the scapus is removed.…”