Arachnologische Mitteilungen 54

Spider parasitoids of the genus Polysphincta from Central Europe 31 vertical orb webs of A. angulatus were located in high strata of the tree crown and were often constructed across two trees. In contrast, the much smaller Araniella species build a rela­ tively small, mostly horizontally oriented orb web between tree twigs, sometimes covering only one tree leaf (Kůrka et al. 2015). Both parasitoids, P. longa and P. boops , share forest canopy habitats sympatrically, possibly causing the confusion. These two related parasitoid species presumable evolved their own host-searching behaviour towards closely-related but slightly different spider lineages. The Holarctic P. tuberosa , morphologically similar to the Palaearctic P. boops , also prefers small arboreal araneid spiders, but its host range is much wider than that of P. boops (e.g. Fit­ ton et al. 1988, Korenko et al. 2014). Although it attacks vari­ ous taxa, their ecology (web architecture, habitat preference) is similar (Kůrka et al. 2015). Another Polysphincta occurring in Europe, P. rufipes , is widely distributed across the Palaearctic (Yu et al. 2012). The species attacks araneid spiders such as Larinioides or Zygiella , which build a protection chamber at the side of the orb web (e.g. Fitton et al. 1988, Schmitt et al. 2012). Another congener is P. vexator distributed in the Bri­ tish Isles and Scandinavia (Yu et al. 2012), which seems to be associated with grassy peat bogs and mosses, where its major host spider A. quadratus is common (Fitton et al. 1988). A single record reared from Larinioides cornutus (Clerck, 1757) is also present (Fitton et al. 1988). In total, five wasp species of the genus Polysphincta occur so far in Europe. Their host range is restricted to the spider family Araneidae, but each host preference is varied (Tab. 1). The widest host range is documented in P. tuberosa , which attack three araneid genera (Fitton et al. 1988, Korenko et al. 2014). In contrast, P. boops seems to be strictly associated only with spiders of the genus Araniella (Korenko et al. 2014). Polysphincta longa seems to attack only A. angulatus (Fritzén & Shaw 2014, this study). Manipulation of web-building behaviour We observed, although only once, that the web-building be­ haviour of A. angulatus was modified by the final stage larva of P. longa . The spider built a unique structure corresponding to a cocoon web (a 3D tangle produced by the manipulated spider), which seems to serve to protect the parasitoid during the pupal stage. Our observation did not agree with Fritzén & Shaw (2014), who saw no modification of spider web building Tab. 1: Host association of European spider-parasitoids of the genus Polysphincta . Values are percentage of host records (%) from reliable recent sources: Fitton et al. (1988), Schmitt et al. (2012), Fritzén & Shaw (2014), Korenko et al. (2014), Korenko (unpubl. data) and this study. N means total number of host records. Polysphincta Araniella Araneus Larinioides Zygiella N cucurbitina ophistographa angulatus diadematus quadratus sturmi sclopetarius cornutus x-notata atrica boops Tschek, 1869 80 20  5 tuberosa Gravenhorst, 1829 43 19 31 4 1 1 70 longa Kasparyan, 1976 100  3 rufipes Gravenhorst 1829 22 70 9 23 vexator Fitton, Shaw & Gauld, 1988 96  4 26 Fig. 4: Araneus sturmi parasitized by P. boops . The larva is attached at the dorsal side of the spider’s opisthosoma. Scale: 2 mm Fig. 5: Cocoon web built by A. sturmi under the influence of P. tuberosa larva. Scale: 5 mm