About Episinus maculipes Cavanna, 1876
Episinus maculipes, first described by Cavanna in 1876, is a rare European spider belonging to the family Theridiidae. Its currently known distribution spans from England to Algeria, Ukraine, and Russia. This species lives on the foliage of shrubs and trees. At nightfall, female spiders build a simple web that forms an inverted Y-shaped frame fitted with sticky globules; the frame of this web measures between five and 20 centimeters in length. Within one hour after darkness sets in, almost half of all observed female spiders had already caught prey, which consists of lacewing larvae and Phytocoris bugs from the family Capsidae. Males of this species do not construct webs, instead wandering through vegetation to move around. Both male and female Episinus maculipes reach adulthood during the months of July and August.
