The épeire of the cracks is a common but discrete spider which hiding place itself the day in a crack of wall or a hollow of bark and which is posted on its fabric the night.

Morphology

This spider has a flattened profile and is of dark color brown. The circumference of the top of the Abdomen is clearer, in its center one can distinguish 3 pairs from small black spots which form hollows. The ventral face has 2 symmetrical yellow spots. The abdomen can measure 1.5 centimetre for the female.

Lifestyle

The épeire of the cracks is hiding place the day in a crack of wall or a hollow of bark. It can flatten its abdomen and fit in a crack of 3-4 millimetres broad close to its fabric. Often a silk wire connects the hiding-place to the fabric (but not always and sometimes the épeire hides its fabric remotely) and one can see a leg which exceeds of its den posed on this wire for thus feeling the vibrations of a possible capture. If a prey is made take in its trap, it joined the center of the fabric then - as the majority of the other spiders Orbitèle S - locates thanks to the vibrations, inoculates a Venin to him, surrounds it by wire of silk and brings back it in its hiding-place with its two legs postpones to taste it.

The épeire of the cracks leaves its hiding-place the night fallen to weave its fabric, thus at the small day this one often partly or is completely destroyed if there were many captures during the night. The fabric is more or less ovoid, vertical and can measure up to 50 cm in diameter and the rays - with the median number of a score - are sometimes spaced of 2 cm in periphery. The épeire is posted in the center or close to its fabric until the rising of the sun.

Food

It is nourished of any kind of diurnal but especially night insects flying (moths).

Habitat

This spider is frequent in Europe in the places providing of the hiding-places essential to its blooming: old walls, outsides of old buildings, fences, old trees, wood pile.

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