| | The spider families of Britain and Ireland |
~Tetragnathidae; excluding Zygiella
Orb Weavers.
Morphology. The adult spiders 3.5–16 mm long; of medium build, or decidedly plump-bodied; decidedly short-legged, or with legs of medium length (somewhat shorter than to nearly three times the body length); with eight eyes. The eyes in two horizontal rows of 4; all clear and glassy. The maxillae longer than broad. The palpal organs of the male of complex structure and enclosed by the specialized, hollowed tarsal segment (the cymbium). The male palps with a well developed paracymbium. Metatarsus IV of the females without a calamistrum. Tarsal claws 3. Tarsus IV without a ventral ‘comb’. The abdomen conspicuously patterned dorsally. The epigastric furrow nearly straight. The abdomen of the females without a cribellum. The reproductive openings of the females associated with an epigyne.
The adults making snare-webs; constructing orb webs (usually strung vertically, with an open hub).
Representation in Britain and Ireland. 7 species in Britain; in the genera Metellina and Meta, with Zygiella now referred to Araneidae.
Comments. The posterior margin of the chelicerae exhibits one or more teeth, the labium is swollen distally, and the male palpus has an elongate, hairy paracymbium.
Illustrations. • Metellina segmentata. Metellina segmentata (Clerck): a, female; b, a variety of the female; c, male; d and e, two views of the palpus of the male. From Blackwall (1864: labelled by him Epeira inclinata, and referred by Bristowe to Meta reticulata Linn.). • Metellina merianae. Metellina merianae (Scop.): a, female; b, male; d, e and f, the male palpus, outside, inside and underside views respectively. From Blackwall (1864). • Metellina merianae, var. celata. Metellina merianae (Scop.), var. celata (Bl.): a, female; b, male; c, d and e, the palpus of the male, outside, inside and underside views, respectively. From Blackwall (1864, this being Epeira celata Bl., a synonym of M. merianae). • Meta menardi. Meta menardi (Latr.): a, male; b, female; d and e, the palpus of the male, underside and outside profile, respectively; f, extremity of the process in the palpal organ of the male; g, cocoon. From Blackwall (1854: referred by him to Epeira fusca).
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. The spider families of Britain and Ireland. Version: 5th August 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
