Eresus walckenaeri
Encyclopedia
Eresus walckenaerius is a species of ladybird spider
Ladybird spider
Eresus sandaliatus is a species of spider found primarily in northern and central Europe. Like other species of the genus Eresus, it is commonly called Ladybird spider because of the coloration of the male.-Description:...

 from the eastern Mediterranean.

Description

While males are very similar to those of Eresus sandaliatus or Eresus cinnaberinus
Eresus cinnaberinus
Eresus cinnaberinus , of the family Eresidae, is commonly called the Ladybird Spider. It is native to Europe....

the females are up to 4 cm long. The females often have a red band on their opisthosoma
Opisthosoma
The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma . It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata...

. Adult males can be found from April to June.

Habits

Their strikingly pink webs are built below rocks. One egg sac contains several hundred eggs, and spiderlings seem to disperse much more than other Eresus species (using ballooning
Ballooning (spider)
Ballooning is a term used for the mechanical kiting that many spiders, especially small species, as well as certain mites and some caterpillars use to disperse through the air. Many small spiders use gossamer or especially fine silk to lift themselves off a surface or use the silk as an anchor in...

), so that they are not found in large clusters.

Distribution

This species is found on the southern Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...

, in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 and on islands of the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...

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