Common spider (spider): description, habitat

The ordinary cross (Araneus diadematus) is a representative of the family of spider-spiders of the genus of araneomorphic spiders. He prefers wet and damp places. It is most often found in fields, meadows, forests, near water bodies and rivers. The insect is a convinced predator-hermit, not tolerant of representatives of its kind.

Features of the structure

The male size has dimensions of 8-10 mm, females are larger - 15-25 mm. The insect has four pairs of eyes, each of which looks the other way and provides the spider with a wide enough scope. Despite this, they see the crosses badly, they are shortsighted and are able to distinguish only the shadow, movement, outlines of objects. But they have a sharp sense of smell and taste. The body of the spider covers the hairs, which sensitively capture any vibration and vibration.

The ordinary shank has eight legs, the abdomen is round, with white or light brown spots in the form of a cross. Long thin legs end with three claws.

Where the spider dwells

Most often, an insect can be found in the crowns of trees, where it stretches between the branches. The web in the form of a wheel is found in forests, groves, groomed gardens, kitchen gardens and attics.

Networks for catching mines are in constant need of repair, as they are subject to destruction from various insects, so every few days the cross sprouts the web and weaves again. Most often it happens at night.

Reproduction

Spiders are dioecious insects. They have a marriage period in August. After the pairing took place, the male, not having time to escape from the spider, is killed. The female also begins to engage in wickering from the web of a cocoon for eggs, which she carries on herself, then hides it in a safe place. Egg laying takes place in autumn. With the advent of spring, young insects begin to appear from the cocoon. Their sexual maturity falls at the end of summer, after which the spider, which produced them, dies.

With the onset of maturity, the male spider begins to search for the web of the female, discovering which, tries not to become prey. To avoid this, the spider prepares itself a way to retreat, threading the thread down from the edge of the web. After that, he starts to pull the thread gently, which provokes the female to rush to search for the victim. The spider-male at the same time hides, using a woven thread.

Similar games are repeated several times, after which the male and female mate. And if the spider loses vigilance after mating, it can be eaten by a female.

In the cocoon woven by the female there are from three hundred to eight hundred eggs of amber color. Eggs hibernate in a cocoon, in the spring of them young spiders begin to appear. Still some time they are in a cocoon, then crawl in order to start an independent life.

Small spiders have weak limbs, so it is more convenient for them to move from place to place, planning on the web. An ordinary shovel is hunted constantly, flies, mosquitoes, mosquitoes, midges, moths and aphids get into its network.

Web

The web for spoiling the spoils is weaved only by the female. Being in the center of the network or nearby, sitting on the signal thread, dangerous spiders wait for the catch. Most often, prey becomes a fly or a mosquito. When a very large and inadequately extracted spider enters the net, the spider frees it, cutting the web.

Caught caught is eaten immediately or carried away by a spider in a secluded place and entangled in cobwebs.

The web, woven by a female, has exactly 39 radii, 1245 points, in which the radii are attached to a spiral. The spiral has 35 turns. All the networks that weave spiders are identical. The ability to weave a web is genetically laid.

All the threads that form the network are very light, but very strong, which is what the inhabitants of the tropics use, using webs for the manufacture of nets or fishing gear. In addition, the web of the crosspiece has a high elasticity.

In the process of creating a web, two types of threads are used. The frame and radiuses of the spider are weaved using durable dry fibers that do not have an adhesive coating. The framework of the future web is stretched between the branches. After this, the spider is engaged in weaving the radial filaments, which diverge from the center to the edges, as well as an auxiliary spiral filament, which serves as the basis for creating the spiral hobby. At the end of this work, the spider-cross is placed in the center, from where it also picks up a glutinous web. It takes about an hour to weave the net for an insect.

Behavior of an insect

How does hunting go on? When an insect hits a web, the spider transmits a network vibration, and, getting to the victim, he kills it with the help of poison. Then he entangles the victim with thin threads, which he pulls out of his abdomen with a pair of legs.

After that, the ordinary chop bites the threads that hold the victim, and moves to the center of the web for a meal. With the help of digestive juices, which the spider injects into its prey, its digestion takes place under its own shell. The spider can only suck the semi-liquid contents and discard the skin of the eaten insect. At a time, a spider can feast on a dozen insects. Dangerous spiders only for insects, they do not cause harm to humans.

The Benefits of an Insect

The ordinary cross is useful in that it destroys a large number of insect pests.

In ancient times, cobwebs could make clothes and ornaments. The French have learned to make gloves and stockings out of it. But such production did not occur on a large scale, as it would have to contain and feed a lot of insects, which was not possible.

Web properties are used in optical devices, where thin fibers are used. It is also necessary in microbiology.

The crosspiece network can be used as a disinfectant and antibacterial agent for wounds due to the ability to destroy a variety of bacteria and at the same time not to harm animal cells. But do not use this method at home, as there is no confidence in the purity of the cobwebs used.

Spider-spider is an extremely useful insect for humans and not dangerous, although poisonous. The greatest trouble that a crossbite bite can end up with is a red stain on the skin.