Cheiracanthium punctorium, one of several species commonly known as the yellow sac spider, is a spider found from central Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 to Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

. They reach a length of about 15 mm, and can penetrate human skin; the bite is similar to a wasp sting, perhaps a bit more severe, although susceptible persons can have stronger reactions, like nausea

Nausea

Nausea , is a sensation of unease and discomfort in the upper stomach with an involuntary urge to vomit. It often, but not always, precedes vomiting...

.

Females build an egg sac of about 4 cm in high grass. It opens below and is aggressively defended.

In Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, where it is the only "seriously" toxic spider, it is a rare species, only known to occur in notable numbers in the Kaiserstuhl

Kaiserstuhl

The „Kaiserstuhl“ is a relatively low mountain range – a Mittelgebirge – with a maximal height of 556.6 m above sea level. It is of volcanic origin and located in the South West of Baden-Württemberg, Germany in the districts of Emmendingen and Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald...

 region, the hottest part of the country. Due to changing weather patterns

Global warming

Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

, leading to increased arid

Arid

A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...

ity and less precipitation

Precipitation (meteorology)

In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...

 in some areas, this species spreads to more northern parts of Europe, e.g. Brandenburg

Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...

, Germany, where the present trend is towards a climate more similar to the Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

n steppe

Steppe

In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...

s where C. punctorium is most numerous.

The genus Cheiracanthium was transferred from the Clubionidae to the Miturgidae in 1997.