In winter 2000/01 and in June 2001 branch-beating methods were used for sampling spiders in canopies of spruce (Picea abies) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in SW-Bavaria (Germany). Differences in spider assemblages between the two species are discussed with particular emphasis on the dominant species and taxa. For the rare species Theridion boesenbergi Strand, 1904 remarks on their occurence in Bavaria, Germany and Europe are given. For Cinetata gradata (Simon, 1881) we present an update to the entire known distribution including a new map. For both species new records are specified and discussed concerning habitat preference, phenology and distribution. Both species seem to be obligate tree colonisers, C. gradata primarily in the canopy stratum. Adults of C. gradata are to be found during all months of the year; T. boesenbergi exhibits an abundance peak in June, males are known to occur from May to August and females the whole year round. The distribution of both species is restricted to Europe, excluding the northern and western parts (Arctic and Atlantic climate) and the Mediterranean zone.

Nine recently described or poorly known species of the thomisid genera Cozyptila Lehtinen & Marusik, 2005 and Xysticus C.L. Koch, 1835 are reported from Turkey. Five species, Cozyptila blackwalli (Simon, 1875), C. thaleri Marusik & Kovblyuk, 2005, Xysticus bacurianensis Mcheidze, 1971, X. thessalicoides Wunderlich, 1995 and X. xerodermus Strand, 1913 are new records for the Turkish spider fauna. Two species, X. bacurianensis and X. xerodermus are illustrated and a distribution map is provided for the former. A few additional records are given for Greece and the Caucasian countries, of which, of which X. bacurianensis is new for Azerbaijan.

obituary, bibliography, Václav Duchác

European Spider of the Year 2006

anniversary, Manfred Graßhoff

url information

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obituary, bibliography, Konrad Thaler

From the beginning of November 2003 to January 2004 the opilionid fauna was collected in a floodplain forest of the Rhine valley west of Mainz. Altogether 1643 individuals were captured in pitfall traps; these belong to six species representing three families. The thermophilous species Astrobunus laevipes, Nemastoma dentigerum and Trogulus martensi are noteworthy for this habitat. Results on the phenology of three stenochronous species over the sample periods are presented, and both activity abundance and dominance were measured. Additionally survival strategies for flooding periods are proposed and vicariance and concurrence with related species are discussed.

New data on the sex ratio of 16 populations of the endemic harvestman Megabunus lesserti Schenkel, 1927 in the northeastern Alps confirm the previously assumed pattern of geographic parthenogenesis. Bisexuals inhabit a small area between the eastern margin of the Northern Calcareous Alps and the Ennstaler Alps, which was covered by ice during the last (Würm) glaciations. Postglacially recolonized areas are occupied by parthenogenetic clones. Some all-female samples were found in close geographic proximity to bisexual populations. Apparently isolated occurrences at the western (Ammergau Alps) and southwestern (Carinthian) limits of the range proved to consist exclusively of females. A single male recorded in the Karwendel Mts. near Innsbruck is interpreted preferentially as a case of spanandry, being a fatherless "mistake" without any significant function.

book review: Jörg Wunderlich (ed.) (2004): Fossil Spiders in Amber and Copal. Fossile Spinnen in Bernstein und Kopal.

book review: Rainar Nitzsche (2004): Spinne sein. Spinnen-Spiegelungen in Menschen-Augen.

memorial award, Konrad-Thaler-Gedächtnispreis

anniversary, Otto Kraus

congress report

congress report

About 1100 individuals belonging to 32 opilionid species (300 series), mainly of German origin, were identified based on material provided by, and stored at, the Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt (Main). A list of all species with habitat information is included. Comments on two remarkable species (Oligolophus hanseni, Odiellus spinosus) are given. The comments include the importance of some series as reference material from MARTENS (1978), additions to regional faunas and the expansion of the known distribution of some thermophilous species.