peatland sheet-web weaver

(Hypselistes florens)

Conservation Status
peatland sheet-web weaver
Photo by Babette Kis
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Peatland sheet-web weaver is a very small eight-eyed spider. It occurs across northern United States and Canada. Though very common, splendid dwarf spider is rarely seen. It spends its time under dead leaves, rocks, or other debris. It is often collected in large numbers in sweep nets.

The male and female are similar in shape and color. The female is 1 16 to (2.5 to 3 mm) long, the male a little smaller, 1 16 (2.3 to 2.5 mm) long.

The front part of the body (cephalothorax) may be bright orange, reddish-orange, or orangish-red. It is about as wide as long, rounded on the sides, and slightly constricted at the base. On the female it is relatively flat when viewed from the side. On the male there is a very high lobe near the front that bears the front middle eyes (anterior median eyes, or AME). The lobe is somewhat lighter in color than the rest of the cephalothorax. The remaining six eyes are arranged in a lower, slightly curved row of three closely-spaced pairs of eyes. On the male, there is a pit (cephalic pit) in a groove just behind each pair of posterior lateral eyes.

The abdomen is dark gray to nearly black, spherical, and shiny.

The legs are medium-length and are armed with spines. The first three segments of each leg (coxa, trochanter, and femur) are always bright orange, regardless of the color of the cephalothorax. The remaining segments dark gray with orange usually “showing through” to some extent. They may appear mostly orange, equally orange and dark gray, mostly dark gray, or entirely dark gray, but they are never entirely orange.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Female Body Length: 1 16 to (2.5 to 3 mm)

Male Body Length: 1 16 (2.3 to 2.5 mm)

Legspan: 3 16 to ¼ (5 to 6 mm)

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

 

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

April through August

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

Spiderlings disperse in the fall by “ballooning”. They climb a branch, blade of grass, or fencepost, and release a long thread of silk. The silk thread catches the wind or even a light breeze and the spiderling floats to a new site.

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

 

 
     
 

Food

 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

24, 29, 30, 82.
 
  10/15/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Very common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Class Arachnida (arachnids)  
 

Order

Araneae (spiders)  
 

Suborder

Araneomorphae (typical spiders)  
 

Infraorder

Entelegynae (entelegyne spiders)  
 

Superfamily

Araneoidea  
 

Family

Linyphiidae (sheetweb and dwarf weavers)  
 

Subfamily

Erigoninae (dwarf spiders)  
 

Genus

Hypselistes  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

peatland sheet-web weaver (Hypselistes florens bulbiceps)

peatland sheet-web weaver (Hypselistes florens florens)

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

peatland sheet-web weaver
splendid dwarf spider

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Cephalothorax

The front part of a spider’s body, composed of the head region and the thoracic area fused together. Eyes, legs, and antennae are attached to this part.

 

 

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

Share your photo of this arachnid.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.
 
 

Babette Kis

 
 

Hypselistes florens, black and red splendid dwarf spider, on goldenrod

Hypselistes florens, black and red splendid dwarf spider, on Canada goldenrod. Photos were taken Sept. 19, 2020 at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI.

  peatland sheet-web weaver  
           
    peatland sheet-web weaver   peatland sheet-web weaver  
 

Alfredo Colon

 
    peatland sheet-web weaver   peatland sheet-web weaver  
           
    peatland sheet-web weaver      
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

 

 
           

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
 
     
     

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

Share your video of this arachnid.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.
 
 

 

 
     
     
       
       
 
Other Videos
 
  Splendid Dwarf Spider (Linyphiidae: Hypselistes florens) Belaying
Carl Barrentine
 
   
 
About

Published on Oct 15, 2011

Photographed at Grand Forks, North Dakota (14 October 2011).

   

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this arachnid.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
 
  Alfredo Colon
6/2/2021

Location: Woodbury, MN

peatland sheet-web weaver  
  Babette Kis
9/19/2020

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI

Hypselistes florens, black and red splendid dwarf spider, on Canada goldenrod. Photos were taken Sept. 19, 2020 at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI.

peatland sheet-web weaver  
  Alfredo Colon
8/12/2018

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

peatland sheet-web weaver  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

 

 

 

 

Binoculars


Created: 4/26/2019

Last Updated:

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved.