Diplostyla concolor (Wider, 1834) [urn:lsid:nmbe.

ch:spidersp:010092]
Description
Male palp with conductor and embolus forming large loop. Epigyne with very long scapus, unvarying in width.
Prosoma brown, brown with blackish margin and vague radial stripes. Sternum brown, with a tinge of black.
Chelicerae brown, with 4 anterior and 5 posterior denticles on cheliceral furrow margin. Legs yellow-brown.
Opisthosoma dark grey to black, rarely with indistinct pattern.
Body length male: 2.5-3 mm, Body length female: 2.5-3 mm
Additional information
In humid forests, gardens and shadowed watersides
Frequent

Species text
Distribution
The species is widespread in Britain but becoming very scattered and patchy in the west
and north.

Habitat and ecology

D. concolor is found in a wide variety of situations, usually at ground level. It can be
found in grassland (probably being commonest on calcareous grassland), broad-leaved
and mixed woodlands, hedgerows, marsh and waterside vegetation, moss, leaf litter and
under ground cover such as stones and is especially common in disturbed situations. It
usually occurs in small mixed-sex groups under stones, pieces of wood, rubbish, etc. (J.
Daws, pers. comm.). The conditions can range from the relative dryness of chalk
downland to the dampness of marshes. Adults of both sexes are commonly recorded
throughout the year.

http://srs.britishspiders.org.uk/portal/p/Summary/s/Diplostyla+concolor

http://www.araneae.unibe.ch/data/373/Diplostyla_concolor
Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Arachnida

Order: Araneae

Family: Tetragnathidae

Genus: Leucauge

Species: Leucauge venusta

Common Name (Official / AAS)

Orchard Orbweaver

Other Common Names

Orchard Spider, Longjawed Orbweaver, Venusta Orchard Spider

Author

Author of species name: Charles Athanase Walckenaer. First year published: 1841,
asEpeira venusta.

Pronunciation

loo-KAW-gee veh-NOO-stuh

Meaning

The genus name Leucauge is Greek for with a bright gleam, and it is actually the
only spider name created by Charles Darwin himself (Cameron 2005). The specific
epithet, venusta, is Latin for charming, elegant, or beautiful.

xplanation of Names
venusta - Latin for beautiful

Numbers
2 spp. n. of Mex.
Size
Female body length 5.5 - 7.5 mm
Male body length 3.5 - 4.0 mm (1)

Slightly elongated abdomen marked with silver, yellow, black, green, and bright orange or pink
spots. Spins its web at an angle and hangs in the center.(1)
Cephalothorax yellowish green, striped with brown along sides. Abdomen silvery above with dark
stripes; sides yellow with red spot near tip, and red spot underneath. (enature.org)

The thing that catches our [JJB] eye about the very similar L. argyra (below, left) is that the three
lines on the back run parallel only about halfway across the back when the outer two suddenly
bend inward before flowing parallel once again to the end of the abdomen. L. venusta (below,
right) is variable, but seems to have a single line that branches out into three about a quarter of
the way which then flow parallel to the back. There's probably something much more importantly
different, but we haven't noticed it yet. See
Continuing this discussion, we find that venusta has narrow black stripes, much less black on the
sides and rear and instead often has much green or yellow or even those two extra large
orange/red spots that were used to identify the formerly separated Mabel's Orchard Orbweaver.
The underside has a large yellow to orange smile-shaped spot and the end of the abdomen is often
filled with many variously colored and sized spots, giving an overall sense of color and not black.
And it seems not unusual to see quite clearly on images of venusta a delightful fringe edge on the
inner back legs, which we haven't seen yet on images of argyra (though we assume it's possible
that it is there, too.) See a similar discussion on L. argyra here. Examine these 10 images
of Leucauge venusta [JJB]:
Habitat
Woodlands. Builds in low shrubs or small trees, close to the ground.

Food
small insects

Life Cycle
egg mass is attached to leaves and twigs near web; spiderlings disperse and spin own webs

http://bugguide.net/node/view/2010
 Geographic Range
Along the Atlantic Coast, from Nova Scotia to the Yucatan.

Biogeographic Regions
nearctic

native

neotropical

native

atlantic ocean

native

Habitat
The horseshoe crab can generally be found in shallow water, over sandy or muddy bottoms.

Aquatic Biomes
coastal

Reproduction
The first pair of the six, flap-like appendages on the underside of the abdomen acts as a cover
for the genital pore. The egg or sperm are released through this pore during spawning.

Behavior
The horseshoe crab generally walks along the bottom of shallow water, but it can also swim
awkwardly on its back by using its flap-like gills as paddles.

Food Habits
The horseshoe crab feeds at night on worms, small molluscs, and algae. Food is picked up by
the chelicerae and passed back to the bristle bases, where it is "chewed." The food is then
moved forward to the mouth.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

The study of a horseshoe crab's central nervous system processing functions provided the
principles necessary to understand information processes in virtually every other organism
investigated.

Conservation Status
The horseshoe crab is a "living relic" of the Merostomata, most of which went extinct
millions of years ago.
Description & Behavior
Limulus polyphemus (Linnaeus, 1758), commonly known as horseshoe "crabs"
and Limulus albus (Bosc, 1802), Limulus americanus (Leach, 1819), Limulus
cyclops (Fabricius, 1793), Limulus occidentalis (Lamarck, 1801), Limulus
sowerbii (Leach, 1815), and Monoculus polyphemus (Linnaeus, 1758), were originally
classified as a crab erroneously. They are actually a distant relative of crustaceans ,
and are more closely related to arachnids such as spiders, scorpions and ticks.
Although they look prehistoric, and ancient relatives of Limulus polyphemus were
present 520 million years ago as evidenced by fossils, this species has only been
around for about 20 million years which is not enough time to consider this animal a
"living fossil" as they are sometimes called.

Horseshoe crabs are fascinating creatures. They are one of the few animals that has
no predators, other than humans who capture horseshoe crabs primarily for bait. A
protein found in the blood of horseshoe crabs is used to detect impurities in intravenous
medications; the animals are apparently not harmed during blood extraction.
Horseshoe crab blood has also been used in cancer therapy research, leukemia
diagnosis and to detect vitamin B12 deficiency.

Another interesting fact is that horseshoe crabs are quite literally "blue blood." Oxygen
is carried in the blood of the horseshoe crab by a molecule that contains hemocyanin,
which contains copper causing the blood to turn blue when exposed to air. Most red-
blooded animals carry oxygen in iron-rich hemoglobin causing their blood to turn red
when exposed to air.

The larger female horseshoe crab can reach up to 60 cm in length and can weigh up
to 5 kg. The U- or horseshoe-shapedcarapace (shell) is smooth and brown, although
in some environments the carapace is covered with epiphytic plants and epizooic
animals (organisms which live on the outer surface of other organisms and can grow so
much that the carapace is no longer visible). This is usually observed toward the end of
the horseshoe crab's lifespan of approximately 19 years. During its formative years, the
horseshoe crab sheds its carapace periodically, or molts, to accommodate its growing
body. The new skeleton is flexible so that it can accommodate the increased body size.
The new carapace then hardens and its color forms during tanning of its protein
component.

The body is divided into an anterior cephalothorax and a posterior abdomen. The
spike-shaped tail, or telson, functions as a tool for digging in sand and a lever if the
animal finds itself upside down. The tail might not always be effective however. In
Delaware, a program known as "Just Flip 'Em" was established to encourage
beachgoers to flip "stuck" horseshoe crabs stranded on the beach during mating
season. The horseshoe crab is equipped with 4 pairs of jointed walking legs (pedipalps)
each ending in a claw. The fifth pair is larger and allows the animal to lurch forward.
The middle segment of each leg is covered with spines used to chew food before it is
passed forward and into the mouth located at the base of the legs. Interestingly,
locomotion and feeding are closely related, since the animal can chew only when it
moves. More on feeding below.

Horseshoe crabs have 10 eyes located all over their bodies, most located on the back
or sides of the animal. Some contain only photoreceptors such as the eyes located on
their tails. The eyes found on the back each have about 1,000 photoreceptor clusters
or ommatidia, each with a lens, cornea and photoreceptor cells. Horseshoe crabs have
the largest rods and cones of any known animal that are about 100 times the size of
humans'. In spite of the number of eyes, horseshoe crabs still have "poor" eyesight
used only to sense light and locate mates.

Horseshoe crabs' respiration is conducted through 6 pairs of appendages attached to

the underside of the abdomen calledgill books. The first pair, called the operculum,
protects the other five pairs, which are respiratory organs and houses the opening of
the genital pores through which eggs and sperm are released from the body.

There are 4 species of horseshoe crabs found in the world today. Limulus is the only
species found in the Atlantic Ocean. The remaining three are found in SE Asia where
the eggs of some species are used for food. In addition to Limulus polyphemusfound
off the US East Coast from Maine south to the Gulf of Mexico as far as the Yucatan
peninsula, the remaining species are:

Tachypleus tridentatus: Malyasia, W Indonesia and China East Coast

Tachypleus gigas: Bay of Bengal, Indonesia to N Australia
Carcinoscorpius rotundicaudata: Thailand and Vietnam to SE Indonesia

Feeding Behavior (Ecology)

Horseshoe crabs are omnivorous scavengers, feeding upon small bivalves, mollusks,
worms, dead fish and algae. They feed through the mouth located at the base of the
legs, which are covered with thick bristles (gnathobases) that point inward used to grind
the food as the animal walks.

Food is then pushed into the mouth by the chelicera, which is then passed into the
esophagus where it is further ground and passed into the stomach and intestine. Waste
is excreted through an anus located on the ventral side in front of the telson (tail).

Life History
Sexual maturity is not reached for nine to 12 years. Mating season for the horseshoe
crab takes place during the spring and summer full moons. The male uses the first pair
 of claws to attach to the female. The female deposits between 2,000 and 30,000 eggs
in each nest in the sand and the male then releases sperm to fertilize them. The eggs
are 2-3 mm in diameter and are an attraction for migrating birds that time their arrival in
the season to feed on Limulus eggs. When the moon is full again, the 1 cm long
larvae hatch and crawl from where they are buried in the sand to return to the water. In
about 1 year juvenile horseshoe crabs will reach about 4 cm in width.

http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=281

http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Limulus_polyphemus/
Introduction (Back to Top)
The American cockroach, Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus), is the largest of the common
peridomestic cockroaches measuring on average 4 cm in length. It occurs in buildings
throughout Florida, especially in commercial buildings. In the northern United States the
cockroach is mainly found in steam heat tunnels or large institutional buildings. The
American cockroach is second only to the German cockroach in abundance.

Distribution (Back to Top)

Forty-seven species are included in the genus Periplaneta, none of which are endemic to the
U.S. (Bell and Adiyodi 1981). The American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, was
introduced to the United States from Africa as early as 1625 (Bell and Adiyodi 1981). The
American cockroach has spread throughout the world by commerce. It is found mainly in
basements, sewers, steam tunnels, and drainage systems (Rust et. al. 1991). This cockroach is
readily found in commercial and large buildings such as restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries,
and anywhere food is prepared and stored. The American cockroach is rarely found in
houses, however infestations can occur after heavy rain. They can develop to enormous
numbers, greater than 5,000 sometimes being found in individual sewer manholes (Rust et.
al. 1991).

Outdoors, American cockroaches are found in moist shady areassuch as hollow trees, wood
piles, and mulch. They are occasionally found under roof shingles and in attics. The
cockroaches dwell outside, but will wander indoors to search for food and water or to avoid
extreme weather conditions. In Florida, areas such as trees, woodpiles, garbage facilities, and
accumulations of organic debris around homes provide adequate food, water, and harborages
for peridomestic cockroaches such as the American cockroach (Hagenbuch et al. 1988).

Mass migrations of the American cockroaches are common (Ebeling 1975). They migrate
into houses and apartments from sewers via the plumbing, and from trees and shrubs located
alongside buildings or with branches overhanging roofs. During the day the American
cockroach, which responds negatively to light, rests in harborages close to water pipes, sinks,
baths, and toilets where the microclimate is suitable for survival (Bell and Adiyodi 1981).

Description (Back to Top)

Eggs: Females of the American cockroach lay their eggs in a hardened, purse-shaped egg
case called an ootheca. About one week after mating the female produces an ootheca and at
the peak of her reproductive period, she may form two oothecae per week (Bell and Adiyodi
1981). The females on average produce one egg case a month for ten months, laying 16 eggs
per egg case. The female deposits the ootheca near a source of food, sometimes gluing it to a
surface with a secretion from her mouth. The deposited ootheca contains water sufficient for
the eggs to develop without receiving additional water from the substrate (Bell and Adiyodi
1981). The egg case is brown when deposited and turns black in a day or two. It is about 8
mm long and 5 mm high.

Nymph: The nymphal stage begins when the egg hatches and ends with the emergence of the
adult. The number of times an American cockroach molts varies from six to 14 (Bell and
Adiyodi 1981). The first instar American cockroach is white immediately after hatching then
becomes a grayish brown. After molting, subsquent instars of the cockroach nymphs are
white and then turn reddish-brown, with the posterior margins of the thoracic and abdominal
segments being a darker color. Wings are not present in the nymphal stages and wing pads
become noticeable in the third or fourth instar. Complete development from egg to adult is
about 600 days. The nymphs as well as the adults actively forage for food and water.

Adult: The adult American cockroach is reddish brown with a pale brown or yellow band
around the edge of the pronotum. The males are longer than the females because their
wings extend 4 to 8 mm beyond the tip of the abdomen. Males and females have a pair of
slender, jointed cerci at the tip of the abdomen. The male cockroaches have cerci with 18 to
19 segments while the females cerci have 13 to 14 segments. The male American
cockroaches have a pair of styli between the cerci while the females do not.

Life Cycle (Back to Top)

The American cockroach has three life stages: the egg, a variable number of nymphal instars,
and the adult. The life cycle from egg to adult averages about 600 days and the adult life span
may be another 400 days. The nymphs emerge from the egg case after about six to eight
weeks and mature in about six to twelve months. Adults can live up to one year and an adult
female will produce an average of 150 young in her lifetime. Environmental factors such as
temperature and humidity affect the developmental time of the American cockroach.
Outdoors, the female shows a preference for moist, concealed ovipositon sites (Bell and
Adiyodi 1981).

The American cockroach is an omnivorous and opportunistic feeder. It consumes decaying organic
matter but is a scavenger and will eat almost anything. It prefers sweets, but has also been observed
eating paper, boots, hair, bread, fruit, book bindings, fish, peanuts, old rice, putrid sake, the soft part
on the inside of animal hides, cloth and dead insects (Bell and Adiyodi 1981).