Zodarion rubidum
Encyclopedia
Zodarion rubidum is a spider
species of the Zodariidae family.
Like most Zodariidae, Z. rubidum is an ant
-eating spider. It resembles ants structurally and behaviorally. Z. rubidum specifically mimics red ants, such as Myrmica sabuleti
. It often feeds on Tetramorium caespitum or Lasius platythorax.
Z. rubidum is up to 5mm in size. Like many other zodariid spiders, it moves across open ground in the evening and at night.
, but has spread during the last few decades into central Europe
, and has been introduced to U.S.
and Canada
.
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
species of the Zodariidae family.
Like most Zodariidae, Z. rubidum is an ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
-eating spider. It resembles ants structurally and behaviorally. Z. rubidum specifically mimics red ants, such as Myrmica sabuleti
Myrmica sabuleti
Myrmica sabuleti is a species of ant. The species is indigenous to Europe and most colonies are polygynous. The Large Blue butterfly caterpillar parasitically prey on the species as it hatchess on thyme buds and then tricks the ants into believing it is one of their own larvae, ants then carry it...
. It often feeds on Tetramorium caespitum or Lasius platythorax.
Z. rubidum is up to 5mm in size. Like many other zodariid spiders, it moves across open ground in the evening and at night.
Distribution
Z. rubidum originally occurred in southwestern FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, but has spread during the last few decades into central Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and has been introduced to U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.