# European Nursery Web spider

*Pisaura mirabilis*

To avoid becoming a post-mating snack, the male presents the female with a 'nuptial gift'—a dead insect wrapped carefully in white silk.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Arthropoda › Arachnida › Araneae › Pisauridae › Pisaura
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Tall grass, meadows, forest edges, heaths, and shrublands.
- **Diet:** Flies, mosquitoes, moths, aphids, and other small insects.
- **Range:** Europe, North Africa, Western Asia
- **Size:** Body length of 10-15 mm (excluding legs); females are larger than males.
- **Lifespan:** 1-2 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss due to urbanization, intensive agricultural mowing, and widespread pesticide use.
- **Safe to approach?:** This species is harmless to humans and non-aggressive. They may bite defensively if squeezed or if their nursery web is actively disturbed, but their venom is mild. Observe them safely from a few inches away. If bitten, wash the area with soap and water; seek medical attention only in the rare event of an allergic reaction.

## About

The nursery web spider Pisaura mirabilis is a spider species of the family Pisauridae.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/537638bc-9880-4e1a-b8d3-755d768bf3e0
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/55787
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisaura mirabilis
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/355924064/medium.jpg (Mathias Krumbholz, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.