Alopecosa accentuata
Encyclopedia
Alopecosa accentuata is a species of wolf spider
found commonly in open habitats throughout continental Europe
. The female has a body length (excluding legs) of up to 12 mm, the male is rather smaller at up to 9 mm.
The female has a dark brown carapace
with an irregular pale central stripe and white marks at the sides of the eyes. The abdomen
also has a pale central band, interrupted by dark chevrons. The femora
are conspicuously banded white but the rest of the leg is usually dark. The male is generally similar in appearance except that the legs are usually all dark and it sometimes has a covering of fine white hairs over the entire body.
The female matures in the autumn and overwinters as an adult, the male not becoming mature until the spring, when mating takes place.
Wolf spider
Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae, from the Ancient Greek word "" meaning "wolf". They are robust and agile hunters with good eyesight. They live mostly solitary lives and hunt alone. Some are opportunistic hunters pouncing upon prey as they find it or even chasing it over short...
found commonly in open habitats throughout continental Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The female has a body length (excluding legs) of up to 12 mm, the male is rather smaller at up to 9 mm.
The female has a dark brown carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
with an irregular pale central stripe and white marks at the sides of the eyes. The abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
also has a pale central band, interrupted by dark chevrons. The femora
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
are conspicuously banded white but the rest of the leg is usually dark. The male is generally similar in appearance except that the legs are usually all dark and it sometimes has a covering of fine white hairs over the entire body.
The female matures in the autumn and overwinters as an adult, the male not becoming mature until the spring, when mating takes place.