| Lined Orb-weaver (Mangora acalypha (Walckenaer, 1802)) |
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Scientific name: Mangora acalypha (Walckenaer, 1802) Common name: Lined Orb-weaver French name: Mangore petite-bouteille Order: Araneae Family: Araneidae Size: Male: 2.5 to 3 mm; Female: 3.5 to 5 mm Biotope: Heath and any other habitat with low vegetation. Web: Rather large web, with a high number of radii and a very tight spiral. It is always obliquely or horizontally located (this differs from Zilla diodia whose web is always vertically located). The central area looks like lace. The Lined Orb-weaver is often here as its web has no retreat. Observation period: You can observe adults from May to July. Geographic area: Europe, North Africa, Middle East. |
The cephalothorax is pale beige with a thin black border. It also shows a thin black median line. The abdomen is white with a black median line. This line suddenly gets wider with right angles near the middle of the abdomen. This mark looks like a bottle with a thin long neck pointed toward the front. The sides are yellowish with black oblique stripes. The legs are pale beige with darker marks. |
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Here is the marking on the abdomen which is the origin of the French common name of petite-bouteille (small bottle). |
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I have first identified this spider by the high number of radii in the web and by the horizontal position of the web (thanks to the Journal de la Hulotte). |
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I am used to regularly observing Lined Orb-weavers among high grasses in unimproved meadows. They are however difficult to detect because of their small size. |
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One "bottle" again with the neck pointing downwards as usual. |
André Bon November 2018