The chorion of eggs in a Namibian Ariadna species (Araneae: Segestriidae): morphological and SEM analyses

Abstract Morphological and SEM analyses were carried out on the chorion of freshly laid eggs, eggs at different time intervals after oviposition and after hatching of a Namibian segestriid spider Ariadna sp. The eggs laid in the laboratory are held together by a milky-white mucous secretion that gradually decreases until it almost entirely disappears. The eggs are spherical/ellipsoid in shape and, only after the reduction of the secretion, are granular structures of the exochorion evident. Granules are arranged in a single layer and lie on a compact endochorion covering the thin vitelline membrane. No significant difference was found in the chorion of hatched eggs compared to eggs a few hours after oviposition.