1 Poland spiders


Polish post issued a set of four stamps featuring endangered species of spiders inhabiting the territory of Poland. The featured species are:

The wasp spider (Argiopebruennichi) is a species of orb-webspiderdistributed throughout central Europe, northern Europe, north Africa, parts of Asia and in the Azores archipelago. It shows striking yellow and black markings on its abdomen.The spider builds a spiral orbweb at dawn or dusk, commonly in long grass a little above ground level, taking it approximately an hour. The prominent zigzag shape called thestabilimentum, or web decoration, featured at the center of the orb is of uncertain function, though it may be to attract insects.The male of the species is much smaller than the female. It can often be seen in or near a female’s web waiting for her to complete her final moult, at which time she reaches sexual maturity. At this time her chelicerae (jaws) will be soft for a short time and the male may mate with the female without the danger of being eaten.

Atypusmuralis is amygalomorph spider from Central Europeto Turkmenistan. Males are about 9mm long withoutchelicerae, females up to 12mm. Males are of a deep black, while spider lings and females are dark brown with a violet hue. The very long posteriorspinneretsconsist of four segments.The spidercan live for more than ten years.

Adults live in up to 30 cm deep tubes with a diameter of about 10 cm. The silken lining continues above ground for about 10 cm, where it is camouflaged with matter from the vicinity. The mating period is from June to July, when the males search for females. The spiderlings hatch during autumn and overwinter in the mother’s burrow without feeding.

After emerging in spring, they climb nearby plants and use strands of silk to fly away.

Eresus cinnaberinus, of the family Eresidae, is commonly called the Ladybird Spider.

It is native to Europe. Males are up to 11 mm long, females can reach up to 20 millimetres (0.79 in). Males have a black prosomaand a strikingly redopisthosoma with four black dots (sometimes with white lining), resembling a Ladybird. The black legs have white stripes, the hind legs are partly red. Females are black with some white hairs, only the front is sometimes yellow. It prefers sunny, dry locations and is widely distributed in Central and Southern Europe. These spiders live in up to 10 centimetres long underground tubes with a diameter of about one centimetre. On top they are much wider and lined with cribellate silk. Many webs can usually be found in the same place, sometimes up to ten on a single square metre. E. Cinnaberinus mainly catches millipedes and beetles. Males walk around during September, searching for females. If it finds one, it lives with the female in her tube, and they feed from the same web.

2Poland endangered species Spiders

Philaeuschrysops is aspecies of jumping spider (Salticidae). Normal body length is 7–12 millimetres, but 5 mm small males do occur. Unusual for spiders, the males are often bigger. The sexes differ extremely: males are very colourful with a glaringly redopisthosoma (chrysops means “golden eye” in Greek). The males have a dark browncephalothora with two broad longitudinal white stripes behind the rear eyes.

The abdomen is bright orange-red on the back and the sides, with a longitudinal black stripe in the center and black shoulders. The long, slender legs are dark with the patellae and most of the tibiae of the first two pairs bright orange-red. The cephalothorax of the female is similar to the male, but with much smaller white stripes. The back of her abdomen is largely covered with a very broad brown band with two narrow longitudinal white stripes and a few white marks near the sides. The remainder of the abdomen and the sides are orange, the legs light brown with dark brown rings. The spider prefers open and warm areas.

Released December 14, 2013