Arachnids of North Carolina
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Agroeca pratensis - No Common Name     LIOCRANIDAE Members: NC Records BugGuide Account Public View
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Distribution Records
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Vetting Levels
Adult phenology:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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synonym
taxonomic_comments Agroeca pratensis was described by Emerton in 1890 as a member of the family Drassidae; shortly thereafter, in 1897, Simon designated it a member of the Liocraninae, a subfamily of the Clubionidae (historically, a rather unstable taxon). When the Clubionidae was split apart by Lehtinen in 1967, the subfamily was elevated to family level.
species_comment Platnick (2020) refers to Agroeca (sensu lato) as "fairy lamp spiders," owing to the shape of their egg sacs, and notes that the presence of these easily overlooked spiders is often detected by their uniquely shaped sacs, hanging on vegetation.
id_comments While the males of A. pratensis have been confused with those of A. ornata, The epigynum of the two species is decidedly different.
total_length Females ca. 7mm, males ca. 5.5
structural_features Adults have 3 pairs of conspicuous ventral spines on metatarsi I and II.
silk_web
fld_guide_descriptions
online_photos
prey Ground-inhabiting insects & woodlice
predators
behavior Commonly found hunting under leaves on the ground.
distribution_reference Dondale, C. D. & Redner, J. H. (1982). The insects and arachnids of Canada, Part 9. The sac spiders of Canada and Alaska, Araneae: Clubionidae and Anyphaenidae. Research Branch Agriculture Canada Publication 1724: 1-194.
technical_reference Kaston, B. J. (1938). North American spiders of the genus Agroeca. American Midland Naturalist 20: 562-570. Platnick, Norman I. (ed.) 2020. Spiders of the World: A Natural History. Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
adult_id 1 identifiable by photo 2 identifiable by photo of specific features and/or supplementary info 3 identifiable from specimen only
abundance
distribution_comments British Columbia to Nova Scotia, southward to Utah and Georgia.
checklist_mt_high
>=4,000 ft.
Regular
Frequent
Infrequent
Occasional
Seldom
 Frequency
checklist_mt_low
<4,000 ft.
Regular
Frequent
Infrequent
Occasional
Seldom
checklist_pd
Piedmont
Regular
Frequent
Infrequent
Occasional
Seldom
checklist_cp
Coastal Plain
Regular
Frequent
Infrequent
Occasional
Seldom
habitat
observation_methods Sifting, Berlese
state_protection
NHP_ranks
NHP_status
status_comments

Photo Gallery for Agroeca pratensis No common name

Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn
Ashe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Donald ZEPP
Johnston Co.
Comment: In Berlese sample of soil and litter beneath stacked wood. Specimen retained as voucher by dbz as 20210910003.
Recorded by: Donald ZEPP
Johnston Co.
Comment: In Berlese sample of soil and litter beneath stacked wood. Specimen retained as voucher by dbz as 20210910003.		Recorded by: Donald ZEPP
Johnston Co.
Comment: In Berlese sample of soil and litter beneath stacked wood. Specimen retained as voucher by dbz as 20210910003.
Recorded by: Carol Tingley
Wake Co.
Comment: male, leaf litter		Recorded by: Carol Tingley
Wake Co.
Comment: male, leaf litter
Recorded by: Carol Tingley
Wake Co.
Comment: female, leaf litter		Recorded by: Carol Tingley
Wake Co.
Comment: female, leaf litter