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Nursery Web Spider
Pisaura mirabilis
45.0684, 13.6522
Field Notes
Description:
The male is between 10 - 13 mm, while the female is 12 - 15 mm. hey vary in colour from grey to dark brown. The female carries her egg sac in her jaws and can look fairly odd.
Habitat:
This species hunts in low vegetation and on the ground. As only one species of this genus present in northern Europe, this spider is unmistakable. It is mature in summer and can be found in grassland, woodland and heathland. Occasionally they will wander into our houses but this is not their normal habitat.
Notes:
Males of this species offer food gifts to potential female mates. Some Pisaura mirabilis have also been observed to feign death, remaining still while holding the food gift in their mouths. When the female approaches and tries to take the food away, the male springs back to life and attempts to mate. The strategy of playing dead more than doubles a male's odds of successfully achieving copulation, from 40 - 89%.This is an example of a behavior originally evolved to ward off predators being adapted to a new purpose
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