Refine
Document Type
- Article (2) (remove)
Language
- German (2) (remove)
Has Fulltext
- yes (2)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (2)
Keywords
- Brandenburg (1)
- Ground living spider fauna (1)
- area expansion (1)
- envenomation (1)
- invasive species (1)
- pine forests (1)
- spider hysteria (1)
- yellow sac spiders (1)
Ground inhabiting spiders were investigated during the vegetation periods of 1996, 1998 and 2000 in four pine forests of Brandenburg, Germany. 1995 three of them were managed in different ways and one area served as a control. In total 105 different species were found and the lowest number of species was found on the control area. Due to the management the pine forests got opened and xerophilous species could settle the areas. In total a heterogeneous species community was found on each area. From year to year high rates of species turnover were measured even for the dominant species (> 5 % of all collected individuals per area and year). Some endangered species in Brandenburg were collected as well.
In the summers of 2006 and 2007 presumed bites of Cheiracanthium spiders triggered mass hysteria in Austria and some regions of Germany, including northern Saxonia. Here we report the first records of Cheiracanthium mildei L. Koch, 1864 from Saxony and new records of C. punctorium (Villers, 1789) from Saxony and Brandenburg. C. punctorium is probably a native species in southern Germany. It shows a moderate area expansion that could be driven by global warming. Further records in north-western Saxony are to be expected. By contrast, C. mildei has to be regarded an invasive alien species that has rapidly spread into Central Europe from the Mediterranean. Leipzig is the north-easternmost locality in Europe reached so far, a further 230 km away from Nuremberg, the leading edge in 2006. A number of records in different districts of Leipzig suggest that the species is already established in the town. We also report verified bites of both species. The mild to moderate symptoms are in accordance with recent literature reviews.