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| Family: Eresidae (Velvet Spiders) |
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| This family is represented in Europe with 19 species in 4 genera (van Helsdingen, 2009; Platnick, 2009). European genera (number of species in parenthesis): Adonea (1), Eresus (16), Seothyra (1), Stegodyphus (1). |
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| Genus: Eresus Walckenaer, 1805 |
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| There are 16 European species (van Helsdingen, 2009; Platnick, 2009): Eresus albopictus, E. crassitibialis, E. illustris (nomen dubium), E. kollari, E. kollari frontalis, E. kollari ignicomus, E. kollari tricolor, E. moravicus, E. robustus, E. rotundiceps, E. ruficapillus, E. sandaliatus, E. sedilloti, E. solitarius, E. sp., E. walckenaeri. |
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| Eresus kollari Rossi 1846 |
| Range: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France (Corsica), France (Mainland), Germany, Great Britain (Channel Islands), Greece (Crete), Greece (Cyclades), Greece (Mainland), Greece (North Aegean Islands), Hungary, Italy (Mainland), Italy (Sicily), Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Portugal (Mainland), Romania, Russia (Central European), Russia (Eastern European), Russia (Southern European), Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (Mainland), Switzerland, Ukraine, Yugoslavia (van Helsdingen 2009.1). Global range: Europe to Central Asia (Platnick 10.0). |
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 Female. |
 Female. |
 Female. |
 Female. |
 Prey-catching web made of cribellate silk. |
 Male. |
 Male abdominal markings. |
 Female. |
 Male. |
 Male. |
 Male. |
 Female. |
 Female. |
 Dorsal side of female abdomen. |
 Female. |
 Female. |
 Female. |
 Male. |
 Female abdomen. |
 Female. |
 Male. |
 Female. |
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| Eresus sandaliatus (Martini & Goeze, 1778) - Ladybird Spider |
| Description: Compact, cribellate species living in vertical, tubular web extending 5-10 cm in to the ground with bluish or yellowish cribellate web extending from the upper end of the tube and serving as the prey catching part. It is the striking red colouration of the male's abdomen with the six black spots that has given the spider its common name, as the female is uniformly black. Size: Female 8-16 mm; male 6-11 mm. Habitat: Its colonies can be found in sandy spots between heather bushes usually on south facing slopes. The spider is rarely seen wandering, and the presence of a colony is only evident from the characteristic web, which often contains blue elytra of large beetles. The web extends in to the ground where the spider is well hidden to predators. Only rarely are males and juveniles seen wandering. Range: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France (Mainland), Germany, Great Britain (Mainland), Greece (Mainland), Netherlands, Sweden (van Helsdingen 2009.1). Global range: Europe (Platnick 10.0). |
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 Male abdominal markings. |
 Male. |
 Male. |
 Male. |
 Female. |
 Web. |
 Subadult female. |
 Subadult female. |
 Male. |
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| Eresus sp. (Undescribed species) |
| Range: Portugal (Mainland) (van Helsdingen 2009.1). |
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 Female. |
 Female. |
 Female. |
 Female. |
 Female, leg I. |
 Female. |
 Female. |
 Subadult female. |
 Subadult female. |
 Female. |
 Female, abdominal hairing. |
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| Eresus walckenaeri Brull, 1832 |
| Range: Bulgaria, Greece (Crete), Greece (Cyclades), Greece (Dodecanese Islands), Greece (Mainland), Greece (North Aegean Islands), Italy (Mainland), Italy (Sicily) (van Helsdingen 2009.1). Global range: Mediterranean (Platnick 10.0). |
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 Female. |
 Female. |
 Female. |
 Female. |
 Female. |
 Juvenile female abdominal markings. |
 Juvenile female. |
 Juvenile female. |
 Juvenile female. |
 Female. |
 Female. |
 Juvenile female. |
 Female, front of abdomen. |
 Female. |
 Female, tarsal claw. |
 Juvenile female. |