Diel and seasonal activity of ground dwelling spiders (Araneae) in a sandy grassland habitat

The paper concerns the diel and seasonal activity of ground dwelling spiders on a sandy grassland in the Bug River Valley in East-Central Poland. The spiders were captured using pitfall traps in 2009 and 2010 from May to July. The material was collected one day a week, day and night. Traps were checked every 3 h, eight times a day. It was found that for spiders with larger bodies, from the families Lycosidae and Philodromidae, the peak of their activity was in the afternoon, and smaller spiders belonging to the families Linyphiidae and Tetragnathidae showed the greatest activity in the morning.