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Photography with cameras
Nikon D3x, Nikon D300, Canon 50D
Image editing with Photoshop | |
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|  | | Tetragnatha montana | |
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| | Tetragnatha montana | The Tetragnatha montana - order Spiders (Araneae), suborder Araneomorphae - belongs to the family of long-jawed orb weavers (Tetragnathidae), and to the genus Tetragnatha. Scientific synonyms include: Tetragnatha solandri and Tetragnatha extensa montana.
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|  | | Tetragnathidae - Tetragnatha montana | |
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| | | The Tetragnatha montana is widespread throughout a large part of the Palearctic (from Western Europe to East Asia) and is the most frequently occurring type of its genus. In Germany and Central Europe they are non endangered. | | |
|  | | Tetragnatha montana with web | |
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| | The oblong, shiny metallic body of the Tetragnatha montana is a bit darker among the males and reddish in colour, while the drawing is nearly like that of the females. The females reach body lengths of 6-10 mm, the males, 6-8 mm. The front section of the females’ body (prosoma) is either beige-brown, tan or brown in colour. The sternum is dark brown to black, and sometimes has a dark edge. There are small bright spots beside the hips (coxes). | | |
| | The Tetragnatha montana is the only species where the female has a small tooth near the root of its mouth parts (chelicerae). The rear section of the females’ body (opisthosoma) is a shiny silvery white colour on the upperside. In the middle is the characteristic leaf-like marking (folium). It is composed of a white surrounding area against the broad and clearly visible, greenish-brown or brownish-gold coloured band with a fine dark network of lines on the surface. A shiny silver-whitish area can be on its front section. The folium in space is limited by deep waves with narrow dark edges which can be golden , bronze or brownish in colour. The underside of the opisthosoma is dark brown and shiny silver with two narrow bands running lengthwise, which stop at the spider’s silk-spinning organ (spinneret). | | |
| | The abdomen of the male has nearly the same markings, but is somewhat darker and reddish-gold in colour. The colour contrasts are weaker than that of the females, and there are much fewer white or silvery areas. Their underside is brown, with wavy borders and has a dark band running lengthwise. The legs differ significantly in their length, colour and shape, with those of the females are beige, brown or yellow-brown coloured, while those of the males appear darker in colour. Whilst the first, second and fourth pairs of legs are very long, the third pair of legs is relatively short. This pair helps the spider to hold onto thin twigs or grass when resting, while the other pairs of legs are stretched out. There are frequently dark spots and rings at the ends of the legs. | | |
| | Due to their appearance, the Tetragnatha montana can be confused with the Tetragnatha extensa and the Tetragnatha pinicola. Tetragnatha montana prefer to live in the shade of vegetation or in sufficiently moist habitats near water. They are found on trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants or reed stems, in the vicinity of rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, pools or ditches. Even moorland, swamps and lowland forests serve as habitats. | | |
| | The adult (mature) Tetragnatha montana appear in the open from May to September and the earliest are already visible in February. They feed on flies and mosquitoes. It is for this purpose that they build small orb-webs (an upright web formed of threads radiating from a central point, crossed by radial links that spiral in from the edge) between branches and stems. The Tetragnatha montana lies stretched out, outside its web, waiting for the prey. If an insect flies into the web , the spider injects it with poison and the poison turns the insides of the prey into fluid. The insect is then tied up like a parcel and stored not far off from the web. The spider then starts repairing the web. If the spider gets hungry it will eat the stored prey later on. | | |
| | Birds and insectivores are natural enemies of the Tetragnatha montana. As these spiders are very light , they can walk on water without sinking. | | |
| | Mating, which is not initiated through courtship by the males, takes place in May/June. Through the use of a special grip, the male spiders avoid the female’s deadly bite and leave after mating. In order to store the fertilized eggs, females produce a dark green cocoon , and encase it in a fine white web. . The cocoon is attached to parts of plants (mostly leaves) and is guarded and protected against predators by the mother until the young spiders hatch, which takes about 100 days. | | |
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| | Description of images / photos
Photography with Cameras
Nikon D3x, Nikon D300, Canon 50D
Image editing with Photoshop | | 1. | Tetragnatha montana | | 2. | Tetragnathidae - Tetragnatha montana | | 3. | Tetragnatha montana with web |
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