Randomly flipping rocks to find Titanoeca quadriguttata

A tiny European spider, carrying four distinct spots on its abdomen, hidden away under a rock on sunny slopes. This is the rock weaver Titanoeca quadriguttata.

This spider is an unlikely visitor inside your house, but may be encountered by flipping rocks or digging through leaf litter in your garden.¹ Formerly known as T. obscura, these little spiders prefer warm and sunny slopes.² In Germany, they are known to live in limestone rich areas.

Due to the irregularity in visibility of the pattern on the spiders opisthosoma (abdomen), identification can pose a true challenge.³ I consider myself quite lucky to have found one of these spiders with four clearly visible spots, resulting in an easy identification.

These tiny spiders produce silk spun from the cribellum, a special spinning organ that yields silk with a woolly texture. This silk helps the spider to catch insects such as Heteropeda or ants.³

First time found: March 04. 2025

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Additional Sources

1. Titanoeca quadriguttata. wiki.arages.de – link retrieved on 03/05/2025 ↩︎
2. Titanoeca quadriguttata. araneae.nmbe.ch – link retrieved on 03/05/2025 ↩︎
3. Id difficulty for Titanoeca quadriguttata. britishspiders.org.uk – link retrieved on 03/05/2025 ↩︎