| Marbled Cellar Spider (Holocnemus pluchei (Scopoli, 1763)) |
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Scientific name: Holocnemus pluchei (Scopoli, 1763) Common name: Marbled Cellar Spider French name: Pholque de Pluche Order: Araneae Family: Pholcidae Size: Females: 5-9 mm; Males: 5-7 mm. The legs are very long and thin. Biotope: Inside bushes, under rocks, in crevices in walls in its normal geographical range, inside buildings, cellars, basements, sheds in the northern part of its European range. Web: Uneven or domed web with a hollow at the top. Observation period: All year round. Geographic area: South of Europe, Mediterranean Basin, expanding northwards. Recently introduced to North America and to South America. |
Spiders of the Pholcidae family have their eight eyes forming three compact groups, two groups of three eyes located on each side of one group of two eyes. The Marbled Cellar Spider's cephalothorax shows a dark median stripe widening at the front to cover all the eyes. The abdomen is reticulated and bears a cardiac patch. The underside of the body bears a broad black band extending on the whole length. The legs' joints are marked by a white ring located between two black rings. Females carry their cocoon of purple eggs in their chelicerae till the spiderling hatch out. The Longbodied Cellar Spider (Pholcus phalangioides) is a larger size. The median patch on the cephalothorax does not touch the eyes and the abdomen is a more uniform colour. |
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The small size of this spider makes it difficult to shoot pictures. The median stripe on the cephalothorax and the eyes' layout are however clearly visible here. |
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Here is an underside view showing the typical broad black band. |
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The joints on the long legs bear a white ring between two black rings. |
André Bon October 2019
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