Data on the spider fauna of the Maghreb are incomplete and the available information concerns only some parts of this region. In the present contribution, new distribution data on the genus Larinia Simon, 1874 in the Maghreb are given, including the first record of Larinia chloris (Audouin, 1826) in Algeria from two wetlands in the northern Sahara. Photos of male palps and female epigynes as well as maps of the known and new records of Larinia chloris and L. lineata (Lucas, 1846) are presented.

Records of interactions between acrocerid parasitoids (Diptera: Acroceridae) and their hosts are very scarce. Here we report a case of acrocerid fly (most likely Ogcodes sp.) parasitising zodariid spiders of the genus Pax from Israel. We describe the parasitoid development and possible host manipulation.

The goals of this study are 1) to present the results of a new faunistic survey carried out during short, mainly spring vacation trips, through four years (2012–2014 and 2017) in different sites in Albania; 2) to present digital images of some poorly illustrated and difficult to identify species; 3) to make a contribution to the available knowledge of the Albanian spider fauna. Despite the material being collected without prior methodology and almost exclusively by hand, overall, 1231 individuals were collected and identified. A total of 242 species were registered, belonging to 131 genera and 30 families. Two species (Philodromus buchariKubcová, 2004 and Synema ornatum (Thorell, 1875)) are reported for the first time from the Balkan Peninsula, and 67 species and 15 genera are the first records for Albania. Thus, the actual number of Albanian spiders increased to 569 species.

When the museums of Lübeck, Stuttgart, Tübingen and partly of Wiesbaden were destroyed during World War II between 1942 and 1945, also all or parts of their type material were destroyed, among them types from spider species described by Embrik Strand between 1906 and 1917. He did not illustrate type material from 181 species and one subspecies and described them only in an insufficient manner. These species were never recollected during more than 110 years and no additional taxonomically relevant information was published in the arachnological literature. It is impossible to recognize them, so we declare these 181 species here as nomina dubia. Four of these species belong to monotypic genera, two of them to a ditypic genus described by Strand in the context of the mentioned species descriptions. Consequently, without including valid species, the five genera Carteroniella Strand, 1907, Eurypelmella Strand, 1907, Theumella Strand, 1906, Thianella Strand, 1907 and Tmeticides Strand, 1907 are here also declared as nomina dubia. Palystes modificus minor Strand, 1906 is a junior synonym of P. superciliosus L. Koch, 1875 syn. nov.

Beierochelifer peloponnesiacus (Beier, 1929) is recorded from Iran for the first time. The species is briefly described and its diagnostic characters are illustrated. Furthermore, a key for recognizing males of the genera of the family Cheliferidae Risso, 1827 reported from Iran is provided.

The Eastern Mediterranean amblypygid Charinus ioanniticus (Kritscher, 1959) is recorded from Jordan for the first time, which represents the first record of an amblypygid for the country. This expands the known distribution of the order Amblypygi and of the family Charinidae in the region.

Common names play an important role in the efficient communication of scientific results in biology, for instance in the area of applied conservation science, in popular articles and in Citizen Science projects. Common names can increase the readability of texts aimed at the general public and increase the relatability of the described species. For many groups of invertebrates such names are not generally available and often there are no (published) lists of common names, resulting in different names being used for the same species, thus subverting the aims stated above. Here, we propose common German names for all spider genera and species recorded from Germany, and some whose occurrence is expected in this country. Many of these names are coined here for the first time.

On the basis of recently collected specimens in various regions of Iran, new data on jumping spiders (Salticidae) of this country are provided. One species, Salticus lucasisp. nov. (♂, Isfahan Province, central Iran) is described as new to science, and three species (Chalcoscirtus platnicki Marusik, 1995, Mogrus larisaeLogunov, 1995 and Phlegra yaelae Prószyński, 1998) are recorded in Iran for the first time. A further 21 species represent new provincial records..

The species classified by various authors as Tertiary relics in the Bulgarian spider fauna are reviewed. The classification criteria used by previous authors are evaluated and discussed, and an attempt is made to identify the zoogeographical status of these species. Based upon the arguments presented below, it can be concluded that the existence of spider species with Tertiary origin in the modern Bulgarian spider fauna is highly doubtful.

Während einer Erfassung der Springspinnenfauna der griechischen Insel Kreta wurden 24 Arten aus 18 Gattungen nachgewiesen. Eine der Arten, Pellenes floriisp. nov., wird neu beschrieben. Zudem werden mehrere Springspinnenarten erstmals fotografisch dargestellt. Darüber hinaus werden einige taxonomische Probleme hinsichtlich der Springspinnenfauna von Kreta kurz besprochen.

During the 1960s to 1980s Charles-Emanuel Ketterer collected and identified spiders mostly from Wallis (Switzerland) without almost any contacts to other arachnologists. His collection is documented accurately by a datasheet per sample. Considering the possibilities at that time, the identifications were highly accurate. The 836 samples re-determined cover 249 species. Four of them represent first records for Switzerland: Altella lucida (Simon, 1874), Agyneta suecica Holm, 1950, Neon rayi (Simon, 1875), and Hyptiotes flavidus (Blackwall, 1862). A further nine species would have been first records if Ketterer had published his data at that time.

Hollows in mature trees provide a variety of habitats for high species richness and diversity of different arthropod groups. The scarcity of samplings carried out in tree hollows, especially on spiders and on mature oaks, predict the existence of taxonomic novelties in these rich microenvironments. A total of 18 Linyphiidae species, including one species new to science, were sampled with 49 tree hollow emergence traps set in deciduous Quercus forests in the Western Iberian Peninsula. Both sexes of Scotinotylus vettonicus Barrientos & Hernández-Corral sp. nov. and the female of the endemic Iberian Pelecopsis monsantensis Bosmans & Crespo, 2010 are described and both sexes of these two species and of Centromerus succinus (Simon, 1884) are illustrated. In addition, the spatial and temporal distribution of P. monsantensis, C. succinus, Midia midas (Simon, 1884) and Lepthyphantes minutus (Blackwall, 1833) is figured. Furthermore, the checklist of Linyphiidae species recorded in Salamanca province (Spain) is updated to a total of 40 species, representing 13% of all the linyphiids occurring in the Iberian Peninsula.

Alopecosa farinosa (Herman, 1879) is a photophilic and xerophilic wolf spider. It lives in the Kaiserstuhl in a large area, but only in non-wooded sites. It prefers south orientated slopes and adjacent vineyards. Alopecosa farinosa apparently does not balloon. It seems that the mother contributes to dispersal by carrying the juveniles around on the opisthosoma. Since 1979 we performed a continuous long-term study on the recolonization and succession of vineyard slopes after large scale land consolidations. This data from over 33 years shows an undulating trend of population development with a density variation of factor 3, superimposed by short time fluctuations caused by the weather. Alopecosa farinosa has a one-year generation cycle. The present long-time study provides an overview of 33 generations. Due to climatic changes in the last years the winters were warm. Consequently, Alopecosa farinosa changed from a stenochronic spring species to a stenochronic winter species.