Uroctea durandi (Latreille, 1809) - Cyprus

Family: Oecobiidae

Uroctea durandi is a Mediterranean spider of about 16mm, dark with five yellow spots on its back. It lives under rocks, where it constructs an upside-down tent-like hanging web about 4 cm in diameter. From each of the six openings two signaling threads protrude; When an insect or millipede touches one of these threads, the spider lunges out of the respective opening and catches its prey. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uroctea_durandi 

Photos at Agros 27/5/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis

Neoscona adianta Walckenaer, 1802 - Cyprus

Family: Araneidae

female

male

Neoscona adianta is a species of spider belonging to the family Araneidae. It has a Palaearctic distribution.


The coloration includes a brown to red abdomen marked with a series of black-bordered white or cream triangles. The female has a body length (excluding legs) of around 9 millimetres (0.35 in), the male being rather smaller. The web is usually constructed among flower heads, the spider sitting in full view beside the web on a pad of silk. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Photos at Skarinou 23/4/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis

Pholcus phalangioides Fuesslin, 1775 - Cellar spider or Skull spider - Cyprus

Family: Pholcidae

The first record in Cyprus

male

female

Pholcus phalangioides, known as the cellar spider or the skull spider due to its cephalothorax looking like a human skull, is a spider of the family Pholcidae. Females have a body length of about 9 mm; males are slightly smaller. Its legs are about 5 or 6 times the length of its body (reaching up to 7 cm of leg span in females). Its habit of living on the ceilings of rooms, caves, garages or cellars gives rise to one of its common names. They are considered beneficial in some parts of the world because they kill and eat other spiders, including species that can be considered a problem to humans such as hobo and redback spiders.

This is the only spider species described by the Swiss entomologist Johann Kaspar Füssli who first recorded it for science in 1775. Confusion often arises over its common name, because "daddy long-legs" is also applied to two other distantly related arthropods: firstly another arachnid from order Opiliones otherwise known as the harvestman, and an insect less ambiguously called the crane fly.


Habitat
Originally a species restricted to warmer parts of the west Palearctic, through the help of humans this synanthrope now occurs throughout a large part of the world. It is unable to survive in cold weather, and consequently it is restricted to (heated) houses in some parts of its range.

Behaviors
Pholcus phalangioides is not considered aggressive, its first line of defense being to shake its web violently when disturbed as a mechanism against predators. It can easily catch and eat other spiders (even those much larger than itself, such as Eratigena atrica[citation needed]), mosquitoes and other insects, and woodlice. When food is scarce, it will prey on its own kind. Rough handling will cause some of its legs to become detached.

Because they originally came from the subtropics, these spiders do not appear to be influenced by seasonal changes and breed at any time of the year. The female holds the 20 to 30 eggs in her pedipalps. Spiderlings are transparent with short legs and change their skin about 5 or 6 times as they mature.

Venom
An urban legend states that Pholcidae are the most venomous spiders in the world but that it is nevertheless harmless to humans because its fangs cannot penetrate human skin. Both of these claims have been proven untrue. Recent research has shown that pholcid venom has a relatively weak effect on insects. In the MythBusters episode "Daddy Long-Legs" it was shown that the spider's fangs (0.25 mm) could penetrate human skin (0.1 mm), but that only a very mild burning feeling was felt for a few seconds. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos at Karpasia 19/6/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis

Oxyopes globifer Simon, 1876 - Lynx spider - Cyprus

Family: Oxyopidae

Oxyopes is a genus of lynx spiders found worldwide. It includes arounds 300 species and is classified under the lynx spider family Oxyopidae. Like other lynx spiders, they are easily recognizable by the six larger eyes arranged hexagonally on top of the head (prosoma), with the remaining smaller two eyes in front. They are also characterized by long spine-like bristles (setae) on their legs. They are ambush predators, actively hunting prey by sight. Though they produce and use silk, they do not build webs to capture prey.

Photos at Egkomi 2/6/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis. 

Oxyopes lineatus Latreille, 1806 - lynx spider - Cyprus

Family: Oxyopidae

Oxyopes lineatus is a species of spider in the family Oxyopidae, the so-called lynx spiders. Two sub-species are recognised, namely O. lineatus lineatus (Latreille, 1806) and O. lineatus occidentalis (Kulczynski, 1907). They are ambush hunting spiders and do not trap their prey in webs, but subdue their victims with their venomous fangs (chelicerae). They are harmless to humans and larger animals and are not aggressive.

Distribution
Oxyopes lineatus is primarily a European spider and has been reported from Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, and southern Russia. They are found most often on small plants near the ground, particularly in bushes and grasses.

Description
The body colour of Oxyopes lineatusis yellowish to light-brown with a pattern of white markings. Like most spiders the species is sexually dimorphic, the males being distinctly smaller than the females. The body length of adult male is about 4–5 mm, while that of female is 6–8 mm. They have eight eyes in total, a pair of two large eyes in front and below them a smaller pair. One pair of medium-sized eyes are high up on the side of the head and another pair of large eyes looks above and backward. This combination of eyes gives these spiders an almost 360o view. As in the Oxyopidae in general, there are long spines on their legs in a basket-like arrangement that assists in confining prey during capture.

Behaviour
Oxyopes lineatus is largely an ambush hunting spider and preys on insects and other small animals. They do not use webs for trapping their prey. Their eyesight is not as good as that of the jumping spiders, but they can locate their prey from a distance of up to 10 cm. Their long legs are very good for running extremely fast, and they jump on their prey like a cat, though where prey is plentiful, such as when insects are actively visiting flowers, these spiders commonly settle down to wait. Using their venom injected through their fangs, they paralyse their prey and eat them. They are active during day-time, particularly in the sunshine, running and jumping over leaves and grasses.

The venom of Oxyopes lineatus contains peptide toxins called oxotoxins (OxyTx1 and OxyTx2), which were discovered in 2008.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Photos at Orkontas 17/05/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis

Philodromus poecilus (Thorell, 1872) - Cyprus

Family: Philodromidae

Philodromus is a genus of philodromid crab spiders.

Spiders in this genus are distinctively flattened. The more than 250 described species are distributed throughout the Holarctic region, with few species reaching into more southern regions. Some are found in certain parts of Africa, with sporadic species occurring up to Australia. Only one species (P. traviatus) is found in (northern) South America. 16 species occur in Central Europe. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Photos at Orkontas 7/05/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis.

Agelena orientalis C. L. Koch, 1837 - Funnel weaver spider - Cyprus

Family: Agelenidae

Agelena orientalis is a species of spiders belonging to the family Agelenidae.

Agelena orientalis can reach a total length of 11–13.6 millimetres (0.43–0.54 in) in males, 12.2–17.7 millimetres (0.48–0.70 in) in females. Coloration is yellowish, with a characteristic pattern of the upperside of the abdomen. These spiders trap their preys by weaving entangling non-sticky funnel webs.

This species is present from Italy to Central Asia and Iran.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photo Latsia by George Konstantinou

Philaeus chrysops (Poda, 1761) - Mating Video - Cyprus

Evarcha nepos (O. P.-Cambridge, 1872) - Jumping spiders - Cyprus

Family: Salticidae

Evarcha is a genus of the spider family Salticidae (jumping spiders).

Photos at Athalassa 17/4/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis.