Ostearius melanopygius (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1880)
Description
Tibial apophysis large, bipartite. Embolus massive. Epigyne with 2 sclerotised clasps. Prosoma brown, with black margin and radial stripes. Sternum yellow-brown, tinged with black, with dark margin. Chelicerae yellow-brown, suffused with black, robust. Male: with tooth-like tubercle. Legs yellow-brown, relatively long. Opisthosoma strikingly orange, red or yellow (unicoloured dark specimens rarely). Broad, black ring around spinnerets.
Body length male: 2.3-2.5 mmBody length female: 1.9-2.4 mm
Additional information
Frequently in scree, compost and market gardens, rare in the mountains. On compost heaps, aggregative spider webs reached 10 m in lengths and comprised several thousand spiders. In Europe, first record 1906 in England, since then further expansion to the east (Růžička, 1995). This species is not native to Europe (alien species) but it is of South American origin. It had been introduced to Europe at least once and did establish.
Character states from linyphiid key
Distribution
Phenology
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
 |  |
Figures
Pedipalp
(Millidge 1985)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Thaler 1978a)
Pedipalp
(Millidge 1985)
Pedipalp
(Roberts 1998)
Pedipalp
(Roberts 1987)
Pedipalp
(Locket & Millidge 1953)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
Palpal tibia
(Millidge 1985)
Palpal tibia
(Locket & Millidge 1953)
Palpal tibia
(Locket et al. 1974)
Chelicerae, ventral view
(Wiehle 1960b)
Epigyne
(Millidge 1985)
Epigyne
(Roberts 1995)
Epigyne
(Roberts 1987)
Epigyne
(Roberts 1987)
Epigyne
(Locket & Millidge 1953)
Epigyne
(Locket & Millidge 1953)
Epigyne
(Rozwałka & Stachowicz 2010)
Epigyne
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
Vulva
(Millidge 1985)
Vulva
(Wiehle 1960b)
Vulva
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Aadland unpubl.)
Leg I, retrolateral view
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
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
Aadland B (unpubl.) .
Aakra K, Hauge E (2003) Checklist of Norwegian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae), including Svalbard and Jan Mayen. Norwegian Journal of Entomology 50: 109-129 
Agnarsson I (1996) Íslenskar köngulær Fjölrit Náttúrufræðistofnunar 31: 1-175
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, Baert L, Bosselaers J, De Koninck H, Maelfait J-P, Van Keer J (2009) Spiders of Lesbos (Greece). Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging 24(suppl.): 1-70
Bosmans R, Van Keer J, Russell-Smith A, Hadjiconstantis M, Komnenov M, Bosselaers J, Huber S, McCowan D, Snazell R, Decae A, Zoumides C, Kielhorn K-H, Oger P (2019c) Spiders of Cyprus (Araneae). A catalogue of all currently known species from Cyprus. Newsletter of the Belgian Arachnological Society 34, Suppl. 1: 1-173
Bosmans R, Van Keer J, Russell-Smith A, Kronestedt T, Alderweireldt M, Bosselaers J, De Koninck H (2013) Spiders of Crete (Araneae). A catalogue of all currently known species from the Greek island of Crete. Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging 28 (Suppl. 1): 1-147
Bosmans R, Van Keer K (2017) Een herziene soortenlijst van de Belgische spinnen (Araneae). Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging 32: 39-69
Bosmans R. (unpubl.) Provisional list of spiders of North Africa. Database excerpt Aug. 2019
Branco V V, Morano E, Cardoso P (2019) An update to the Iberian spider checklist (Araneae). Zootaxa 4614: 201-254
Cawley M (2001) Distribution records for uncommon spiders (Araneae) including five species new to Ireland. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 25: 135-143
Cera I (2018) The checklist of Latvian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae). Environmental and Experimental Biology 16: 139-152
Dandria D, Falzon V, Henwood J (2005) The current knowledge of the spider fauna of the Maltese Islands with the addition of some new records (Arachnida: Araneae). The Central Mediterranean Naturalist 4: 121-129
Danışman T, Kunt K B, Özkütük R S, Coşar İ (2024a) The checklist of the spiders of Turkey. Version 2024 [last updated 01 January 2024], online at http://www.spidersofturkey.info
Demircan N, Topçu A (2016) First records for spider fauna of the European part of Turkey (Araneae). Serket 15: 85-91
Dentici A, Barbera A, Ditta A, Surdo S (2022) On some new reports on the spider fauna of Italy and Sicily (Arachnida Araneae). Biodiversity Journal 13: 399-408
El-Hennawy H K (2017a) A list of Egyptian spiders (revised in 2017). Serket 15: 167-183
Grbić G, Hänggi A (2023) Additional spider records from Mt. Fruška Gora (Serbia) with a first insight into winter species. Acta Entomologica Serbica 27(2, 2022): 67-81
Jäger P (2002a) Aggregative Spinnennetze - weitere Funde in Deutschland und mögliche Erklärungen. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 23: 33-44
Koponen S, Fritzén N R, Pajunen T (2016) Checklist of spiders in Finland (Araneae). 6th version, December 2016, online at http://biolcoll.utu.fi/arach/checklist_of_spiders_in_Finland.htm
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
Lissner J, Jensen J-K, Hansen L J, Simonsen W, Kelduni R, Nissen K (2016b) An updated checklist of spiders (Araneae) of the Faroe Islands. Norwegian Journal of Entomology 63: 197-240
Locket G H, Millidge A F (1953) British spiders. Vol. II. Ray Society, London, 449 pp.
Locket G H, Millidge A F, Merrett P (1974) British Spiders, Volume III. Ray Society, London, 315 pp.
Løvbrekke H (unpubl.)
Millidge A F (1985) Some linyphiid spiders from South America (Araneae, Linyphiidae). American Museum Novitates 2836: 1-78
Pantini P, Isaia M (2019) Araneae.it: the online catalog of Italian spiders, with addenda on other arachnid orders occurring in Italy (Arachnida: Araneae, Opiliones, Palpigradi, Pseudoscorpionida, Scorpiones, Solifugae). Fragmenta Entomologica 51: 127-152
Pfliegler W A, Schönhofer A, Niedbała W, Vella P, Sciberras A, Vella A (2017) New records of mites (Acari) and harvestmen (Opiliones) from Malta with a preliminary checklist of Maltese Arachnida. Soil Organisms 89: 85-110
Pfliegler W P (2014) Records of some rare and interesting spider (Araneae) species from anthropogenic habitats in Debrecen, Hungary. e-Acta Naturalia Pannonica 7: 143-156
Plakkhina E V, Esyunin S L (2022) New data on introduced spider species (Arachnida: Aranei) from the Urals. Arthropoda Selecta 31: 363-371
Polchaninova N, Prokopenko E (2019) An updated checklist of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Left-Bank Ukraine. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 57: 60-64 & App
Ponomarev A V, Prokopenko E V, Shmatko, V Y (2017c) New and interesting records of spiders (Arachnida: Aranei) from the southeastern part of the Russian Plain. Proceedings of the Russian Entomological Society in St. Petersburg 88: 103-117
Roberts M J (1987) The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 2: Linyphiidae and checklist. Harley Books Colchester, England, 204 pp.
Roberts M J (1995) Collins Field Guide: Spiders of Britain & Northern Europe. HarperCollins, London, 383 pp.
Roberts M J (1998) Spinnengids. Tirion, Baarn, Netherlands, 397 pp.
Rozwałka R, Stachowicz J (2010) First record of Ostearius melanopygius (Cambridge, 1879) (Araneae: Linyphiidae) in the eastern part of Poland. Przegląd Zoologiczny 52-43: 159-161
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 (1995) The spreading of Ostearius melanopygius (Araneae: Linyphiidae) through central Europe. European Journal of Entomology 92: 723-726
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
Thaler K (1978a) Über wenig bekannte Zwergspinnen aus den Alpen, V (Arachnida: Aranei, Erigonidae). Beiträge zur Entomologie 28: 183-200
Wiehle H (1960b) Beiträge zur Kenntnis der deutschen Spinnenfauna. Zoologische Jahrbücher, Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere 88: 195-254
WSC (2024) World Spider Catalog. Version 25.0. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (22.01.2024) doi: 10.24436/2
Updates
| 05-11-2024 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 05-02-2023 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 17-11-2022 | Image insert | |
| 28-09-2022 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 01-07-2022 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 17-01-2021 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 19-07-2020 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 08-06-2020 | Datasheet update | Detail |
| 14-05-2020 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 29-04-2019 | Image insert | |
| 05-02-2019 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 22-10-2018 | Datasheet update | Detail |
| 16-05-2018 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 15-12-2017 | Image insert | |
| 07-12-2017 | Datasheet update | Detail |