Harpactea hombergi (Scopoli, 1763)
Description
Male
Prosoma orange-red. Prosoma 1.6-2 mm long. Legs strikingly coloured, light to dark. Femur I-II with 1-2 spines. Opisthosoma white. Male: conical, laterally flattened.
Body length male: 4.5-5.5 mmFemale
Prosoma dark brown, 1.8-2 mm long. Chelicerae: promargin with 2 teeth, retromargin with 2 or 3 teeth. Legs pale yellowish, femur, base of tibia and base of anterior metatarsus brownish, femur I and II with one or 2 spines, femur III and IV with 4 spines, coxa IV and patella III spineless, tarsus IV with a distinct onychium. Opisthosoma cylindrical, very slender, pale greyish.
Body length female: 5.0-6.5 mmAdditional information
Mainly in forests, heathlands, dunes, meadows, marshes, vineyards, gardens, in houses, caves, under stones and tree bark, among moss and litter.
Distribution
Phenology
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
 |  |
Figures
Pedipalp
(Brændegaard 1966)
Pedipalp
(Loksa 1969)
Pedipalp
(Locket & Millidge 1951)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Roberts 1995)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Wiehle 1953)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Locket & Millidge 1951)
Pedipalp
(Brignoli 1979g)
Pedipalp with tibia, patella and femur
(Breitling 2020)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Almquist 2006)
Bulbus
(Alicata 1966c)
Apex of bulbus
(Alicata 1966c)
Apical part of bulbus, prolateral view
(Brignoli 1979g)
Apical part of bulbus, retrolateral view
(Brignoli 1979g)
Prosoma, frontal part
(Almquist 2006)
Vulva
(Alicata 1966c)
Vulva
(Brignoli 1978a)
Vulva
(Heimer & Nentwig 1991)
Vulva
(Wiehle 1953)
Vulva
(Loksa 1969)
Vulva, ventral view
(Brignoli 1979g)
Vulva, ventral view
(Breitling 2020)
Vulva
(Almquist 2006)
Sternum, ventral view
(Almquist 2006)
Habitus, dorsal view
(Almquist 2006)
Eyes, dorsal view
(Brændegaard 1966)
Gnathocoxae, ventral view
(Heimer & Nentwig 1991)
Chelicerae, frontal view
(Wiehle 1953)
Distribution List
"No references" does not mean that the species does not occur in this country, but that we have not yet inserted the reference for it. We are working on it.
References
Alicata P (1966c) Le Harpactea (Araneae, Dysderidae) della fauna italiana e considerazioni sulla loro origine. Atti dell' Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali in Catania (6) 18: 190-221 
Almquist S (2006) Swedish Araneae, part 1 – families Atypidae to Hahniidae (Linyphiidae excluded). Insect Systematics & Evolution, Supplement 62(2005): 1-284
Arnold K (2001) Beitrag zur Spinnenfauna (Arachnida, Araneae) des Fürstentums Liechtenstein. Berichte der Botanisch-Zoologischen Gesellschaft Liechtenstein-Sargans-Werdenberg 28: 211-244
Beladjal L, Bouseksou S, Kherbouche-Abrous O, Alioua Y, Bosmans R (2025) First exhaustive catalog of spiders of Algeria (Arachnida: Araneae). Zootaxa 5598: 1-185
Benhacene R, Adjami A, Hadjeb A, Kermiche K, Ouakid M L (2023) Bibliographic checklist of the Algerian spider fauna (Araneae). Zootaxa 5352: 301-357
Blagoev G, Deltshev C, Lazarov S, Naumova M (2018) The spiders (Araneae) of Bulgaria. Version: August 2018. National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Online at http://www.nmnhs.com/spiders-bulgaria/ (accessed on 10.9.2018)
Blick T, Finch O-D, Harms K H, Kiechle J, Kielhorn K-H , Kreuels M, Malten A, Martin D, Muster C, Nährig D, Platen R, Rödel I, Scheidler M, Staudt A, Stumpf H, Tolke D (2016) Rote Liste und Gesamtartenliste der Spinnen (Arachnida: Araneae) Deutschlands. 3. Fassung, Stand April 2008, einzelne Änderungen und Nachträge bis August 2015. Naturschutz und Biologische Vielfalt 70/4: 383-510
Bosmans R, Lissner J, Hernández-Corral J (2017a) The spider family Dysderidae in the Balearic Islands. Zootaxa 4329: 375-391
Bosmans R, Van Keer K (2017) Een herziene soortenlijst van de Belgische spinnen (Araneae). Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging 32: 39-69
Branco V V, Morano E, Cardoso P (2019) An update to the Iberian spider checklist (Araneae). Zootaxa 4614: 201-254
Breitling R (2020) South European spiders from the Duffey collection in the Manchester Museum (Arachnida: Araneae). Arachnology 18: 333-362
Brignoli P M (1978a) Ragni di Turchia V. Specie nuove o interesanti, cavernicole ed epigee, di varie famiglie (Araneae). Revue Suisse de Zoologie 85: 461-541
Brignoli P M (1979g) Sur quelques Dysderidae de France, d'Espagne et de Tunisie (Araneae). Vie et Milieu 28-29(C): 111-116
Brændegaard J (1966) Edderkopper: Eller Spindlere I Danmarks Fauna 72: 1-224
Gajdoš P, Svatoň J, Sloboda J (1999) Katalóg pavúkov Slovenska. Catalogue of Slovakian spiders. Ústav kr. ekol. SAV, Bratislava, 337 pp.
Geci D, Naumova M (2021b) A preliminary checklist of the spiders of Kosovo (Arachnida: Araneae). Ecologia Balkanica, Special Edition 4: 11-28
Grbić G, Savić D (2010) Contribution to the knowledge of the spider fauna (Arachnida, Araneae) on the Fruška Gora Mt. Acta Entomologica Serbica 15: 243-260
Heimer S, Nentwig W (1991) Spinnen Mitteleuropas. Paul Parey Berlin
Helsdingen P J van (2025a) Catalogus van de Nederlandse spinnen. Versie 2025.1. 249 pp.
Isaia M, Tolve M, Pantini P (2025) Araneae.it: 2.0: the new updated version of the digital catalog of the Italian spiders and other arachnids (Arachnida: Araneae, Opiliones, Scorpiones, Pseudoscorpiones, Palpigradi, Solifugae). Fragmenta Entomologica 57: 197-204
Komnenov M (2010) Checklist of spiders (Araneae) of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Uzizaž i Biospeld 5(2009): 52-69
Kostanjšek R, Kuntner M (2015) Araneae Sloveniae: a national spider species checklist. ZooKeys 474: 1-91
Kreuels M, Staudt A, Christian S (2019) Die Spinnenfauna von Luxemburg – eine Zusammenstellung der Nachweise aus den Jahren 1906-2018 (Arachnida: Araneae). Bulletin de la Société des naturalistes luxembourgeois 121: 203-230
Kronestedt T (2001) Checklist of Spiders (Araneae) in Sweden [Preliminary version February 2001]
Lavery A (2019) A revised checklist of the spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Arachnology 18: 196-212
Le Peru B (2007) Catalogue et répartition des araignées de France. Revue Arachnologique 16: 1-468
Ledoux J-C (2016) Note sur la synonymie d’Harpactea haymozi Brignoli, 1979 et Harpactea hombergi (Scopoli, 1763) (Araneae, Dysderidae). Revue Arachnologique (2) 3: 27
Locket G H, Millidge A F (1951) British spiders. Vol. I. Ray Society, London, 310 pp.
Loksa I (1969) Pokok I-Araneae I. Fauna Hungariae 97: 1-133
Maurer R, Hänggi A (1990) Katalog der schweizerischen Spinnen. Documenta Faunistica Helvetiae 12
Mikhailov K G (2013) The spiders (Arachnida: Aranei) of Russia and adjacent countries: a non-annotated checklist. Arthropoda Selecta, Supplement 3: 1-262
Milosevic B (2002) Aranea – Popis vrsta – Checklist. Hrvatsko entomološko društvo – Inventar entomofaune Hrvatske [Aranea – List of species – Checklist. Croatian Entomological Society – Inventory of Croatian entomofauna].
Prokopenko E V, Chumak V A (2017) Spiders (Aranei) of the beech forest in Carpathian biosphere reserve. Proceedings of Voronezh State University, Series Chemistry, Biology, Pharmacy 2017(4): 69-75
Roberts M J (1995) Collins Field Guide: Spiders of Britain & Northern Europe. HarperCollins, London, 383 pp.
Rozwałka R, Stanska M (2008) Check-list of spiders (Araneae) of Poland. 1. December 2008. online at http://www.arachnologia.edu.pl/en/species/8-spiders-of-poland.html
Růžička V, Řezáč M (2022a) Seznam pavouků České republiky. List of spiders of the Czech Republic. Online at https://www.arachnology.cz/seznam-pavouku-cr-26.html and https://www.arachnology.cz/en/seznam-pavouku-cr-26.html
Samu F, Szinetár C (1999) Bibliographic check list of the Hungarian spider fauna. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 11: 161-184
Scharff N, Gudik-Sørensen O (2006) Katalog over Danmarks edderkopper (Araneae). Catalogue of the spiders of Denmark (Araneae). Entomologiske Meddelelser 74: 3-71
Thaler K, Knoflach B (2002b) Zur Faunistik der Spinnen (Araneae) von Österreich: Atypidae, Haplogynae, Eresidae, Zodariidae, Mimetidae. Linzer Biologische Beiträge 34: 413-444
Vasiliev A I, Mikhailov K G (2023) Annotated checklist of spiders (Araneae) of the Republic of Moldova. Invertebrate Zoology 20: 307-342
Weiss I, Petrișor A (1999) List of the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from Romania. Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa” 41: 79-107
Wiehle H (1953) Spinnentiere oder Arachnoidea (Araneae), IX. Orthognatha-Cribellata-Haplogynae, Entelegynae (Pholcidae, Zodariidae, Oxyopidae, Mimetidae, Nesticidae). Die Tierwelt Deutschlands 42: 1-150
WSC (2026) World Spider Catalog. Version 27. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (13.2.2026) doi: 10.24436/2
Updates
| 10-03-2026 | Image insert | |
| 12-10-2025 | Image insert | |
| 27-07-2025 | Image insert | |
| 31-05-2025 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 05-03-2025 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 19-06-2021 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 24-07-2020 | Image insert | |
| 08-06-2020 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 06-05-2020 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 26-09-2018 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 09-10-2017 | Distribution update | Detail |