The relationship between the structure of spider communities and an index of hedge ecological quality (based on an analysis of vegetation architecture using vegetation diversity and foliage cover) was investigated. The comparison deals with six hedges each of low, medium and high ecological value. The species richness and species composition of dominant spiders was the same for hedges of different quality. Thus it is concluded that these two simple parameters cannot reflect the diversity of the hedge foliage. Indicating species of the differences between ecological quality of two hedges could be required among the groups of species absent from one type of hedge. However, the foliage orientation of the hedges may induce substitution of spider species; thus special attention must be paid to the foliage orientation when comparing the spider communities inhabiting the hedges.