It is commonly found in North America, Europe, parts of Russia (European to Far East), Central Asia, China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan.

E. atra is an important spider for agriculture, as it preys on pests such as aphids which are commonly found on crops.

This technique, sometimes referred to as kiting, allows E. atra spiders to traverse large distances and find new habitats when environmental or human stresses create unfit living environments.

Their cephalothorax region is 0.8 to 1.0 mm in length, black or dark brown in color, and is hairless.

Members of the Linyphiidae family are often identified by the spinal patterns on the tibia portion of their legs.

Their legs are all attached to the cephalothorax and are uniformly brown and have a 2-2-2-1 tibial spinal pattern similar to females.

E. atra's colonial habitat is subject to variation based on season and other environmental factors.

During the winters, E. atra prefer higher vegetation habitats as they provide more protection from predators and increased insulation from the cold.

[9] The increased canopy cover creates a dry shelter with ground vegetation which is required for overwintering.

Combined grazing of cows and sheep create a uniform expanse of short grass which provides an ideal high-density, low-species habitat.

Their diet consists primarily of species of aphids and isotomidae springtails, as both families of pest are selected for by E. atra.

Both insects are found in high density in crop fields, one of the primary habitats of E. atra.

Small webs are sometimes built a few millimeters off of the ground around crops or other feeding places for aphids, springtails, and other pests.

[13] Ballooning is the behavioral trait where aeronautical insects shoot web threads into the air and causes them to become airborne.

A spider will climb up to an elevated position, to avoid threads coming into contact with the ground or other objects, and raise their abdomens in the air.

[14] Wind turbulence is a major cue for spiders to begin tip-toe behavior.

The habitat chosen by the mother can affect ballooning behavior in offspring because of temperature, food availability, and other environmental circumstances during rearing of young.

These spiders tend to disperse by utilizing silk as either a sail, which means that ballooning is being used, or rappelling.

Some females are fertilized before winter but store sperm while overwintering and produce egg sacs in the spring.

[17] In comparing the two sexes' lifespan, the females live on average 18 days longer than the males.

[15] E. atra typically have smaller clutches but produce egg sacs at a rapid rate.

In a laboratory study by De Keer et al. they were observed to reach adulthood in 20 days when they were reared at 20 °C.

Rapid development is needed because of population loss due to dispersal, egg sac parasites, and human agricultural practices.

[17] Gelis festinans is a small insect specialized parasitoid that specifically targets E. atra egg sacs.

In a study done by Alderweireldt et al. analyzing prey selection and capture techniques the median web size of E. atra was found to be 7.6 cm2 in crop fields.

When taking into account individual variation, the 7.6 cm2 is in agreement with the average web size of 4 cm2 found for the Erigoninae family.