Five species of Nemaspela Šilhavý, 1966 are diagnosed, figured and (re)described: N. abchasica (Ljovuschin & Starobogatov, 1963); N. birsteini Ljovuschin, 1972; N. caeca (Grese, 1911); N. kovali sp. n. (♂♀; Kabardino-Balkaria); N. sokolovi (Ljovuschin & Starobogatov, 1963). The female of N. abchasica is described for the first time. New faunistic records are reported for four species of Nemaspela. Distribution maps are provided for all species.

Current relative distributions and evolutionary interactions of two species of large house spiders, Tegenaria saeva and T. gigantea, vary geographically in Britain. To understand fully their underlying causes requires knowledge of species ranges in the past. Here, information from five sources: (a) historical distribution maps based on county and vice county lists; (b) a re-examination of museum and other collections; (c) catalogues of museum specimens recently re-examined by experts; (d) scrutiny of the literature; (e) a request published in a Wildlife Trust magazine, is used to determine historical distribution patterns. It is shown that the northern limits of both species have generally increased through time and that this phenomenon is not a result of variable recorder effort. In the south of England, the species boundary in Dorset has apparently been stable for at least a century. The ecological and evolutionary implications of these results are discussed.

Some unique cases of bicephality in Tegenaria atrica C. L. Koch are described. This phenomenon is known to be the result of broadening and then sagittal bifurcation of the anterior germ band. In consequence there develop two head tagmae, equivalent if the germ band divides symmetrically or non-equivalent if the division is asymmetrical. The bifurcation of the germ band can be shallow, which produces two heads, or deep, which may lead to the development of so-called “Siamese twins”. A less frequent cause of bicephality is bifurcation across the anterior end of the germ band in the horizontal plane. Then two head somites develop, the main head, usually with a normal structure, and a so-called accessory head, usually incomplete, situated one above the other. In the authors' opinion the study of the morphology of the anterior body in bicephalous individuals provides exceptional opportunities for studying the interrelations between the functioning of the particular parts of the brain and widely understood behaviour of spiders.

A survey of ballooning spiders was carried out over a period of eleven years between 1994 and 2004. Altogether, 15,398 ballooning spiders, representing 103 species and 16 families, were caught with a 12.2 m high suction trap in an agricultural landscape of Switzerland. The families Linyphiidae, Araneidae, Philodromidae and Theridiidae were numerically dominant. Linyphiids represented 60% of the total, and were the most diverse family. Of the total captures, 31% were adults, and 52% of the adults were females. The diversity of species caught as males (78) was higher than that of females (68).

We observed 11 species frequently ballooning: Meioneta rurestris, by far the most frequent, Araeoncus humilis, Erigone dentipalpis, Porrhomma microphthalmum, Erigone atra, Tenuiphantes tenuis, Nuctenea umbratica, Bathyphantes gracilis, Eperigone trilobata, Mangora acalypha and Oedothorax apicatus. Of the 103 species recorded, 28 species (27%) and two genera had not previously been recorded in ballooning studies, and 22 species are rare in Switzerland. Although the proportions of species from open areas and from areas with bushes and trees were almost identical, the proportion of individuals of species from open areas was much higher; 46% were ground-living species and the others were from higher vegetation layers.

Dispersal by ballooning showed two main peaks: the first between the end of May and mid-August and the second from the beginning of October until the beginning of November. The maximal diversity was found in June (34 species). The percentage of adults varied between 12 and 65% during the year. The percentage of adult females varied between 32 and 100%. Phenological patterns for the main families are presented.