Lepthyphantes

Menge, 1866

dwarf spiders

Lepthyphantes is a of dwarf in the Linyphiidae, containing 144 and one as of October 2025. Species in this genus are found across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. The genus is notable for its members' to ephemeral and agricultural , with documented strategies emphasizing high reproductive rates and capabilities.

Lepthyphantes leprosus by (c) Bill Keim, some rights reserved (CC BY). Used under a CC-BY license.

Lepthyphantes leprosus (m) by Nikk. Used under a CC BY 2.0 license.

Lepthyphantes leprosus01 by Benedikt. Used under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Lepthyphantes: //lɛpˈθɪfəntiːz//

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Images

Habitat

in this have been documented in ephemeral and agricultural fields, including winter wheat fields in England. Lepthyphantes flavipes has been observed on the upper surface of deciduous forest litter.

Distribution

Africa; Asia; Europe; North America (including Vermont, United States). Specific distribution records exist for Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Diet

Lepthyphantes tenuis has been identified as a capable of consuming , including Rhopalosiphum padi. to aphid consumption varies within and can be subject to selection.

Life Cycle

Lepthyphantes tenuis exhibits two to three per year in agricultural , with three peaks of hatchling production annually. development is temperature-related. The number of eggs per egg-sac does not vary with season, and there is no evidence that viable eggs per egg-sac vary seasonally.

Behavior

Members of this build sheet-webs. Lepthyphantes tenuis exhibits high activity, particularly in females, which increases with age. Dispersal activity ratios (activity/field ) are highest in females (4), followed by sub- (3), males (2), and immatures and hatchlings (1 each). Female dispersal is strongly correlated with weather conditions; under suitable conditions, approximately 4% of adult females may leave the daily. Lepthyphantes flavipes employs a fixed-site foraging strategy in good web sites or when fat reserves are high, switching to mobile strategies in poor sites at low reserves. Physical perturbations such as falling leaves interrupt fixed-site foraging and trigger movement.

Ecological Role

of in agricultural systems. may contribute to natural limitation of aphid .

Human Relevance

Lepthyphantes tenuis is used as a model organism for studying non-target effects of ; glyphosate has been shown to have minimal direct but indirect effects through modification. The has been subject to artificial selection studies to demonstrate genetic variation in , with implications for potential in pest management.