| Araneus grossus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Araneus |
| Species: | A. grossus |
| Binomial name | |
| Araneus grossus C. L. Koch, 1844 | |
Araneus grossus is a orb-weaver spider species. The species is one of the largest orb-weaver spiders in Europe. It is found in South and Southeast Europe and Central Asia.
Individual spiders are much bigger and stronger than the European garden spider ( Araneus diadematus). Adult females range in length from 15 to 23 mm, while males range about 11 mm. [1]
The front-body (Prosoma) is brown with a lighter edge. The yellowish eye area is densely haired. The sternum is yellowish brown with darker margins. The legs are brown and vaguely annulated. The abdomen (Opisthosoma) is bulged on the upper side at the two front corners. Dorsally on a light brown ground it has a dark brown pattern at the back. The tubercles are yellowish.
A. grossus has a holarctic distribution, found in South and Southeast Europe and Central Asia. It is rare in Central Europe.
The habitat of this spider is the herbaceous layer. It lives on bushes at warm, sunny locations.
Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields and forest. "Orb" can in English mean "circular", hence the English name of the group. Araneids have eight similar eyes, hairy or spiny legs, and no stridulating organs.
The spider species Araneus diadematus is commonly called the European garden spider, diadem spider, orangie, cross spider and crowned orb weaver. It is sometimes called the pumpkin spider, although this name is also used for a different species, Araneus marmoreus. It is an orb-weaver spider found in Europe and North America.
The spider species Tegenaria domestica, commonly known as the barn funnel weaver in North America and the domestic house spider in Europe, is a member of the funnel-web family Agelenidae and a close relative of the hobo spider.
Araneus quadratus, the four-spot orb-weaver, is a common orb-weaver spider found in Europe and Central Asia, and as far as the Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan. Females can reach 17 mm in length, especially when gravid, males approximately half that. They are quite variable in appearance, ranging from brown to bright orange or green, but they always have the characteristic four white spots on the abdomen. The darker color morphs are easier to identify, due to the contrast between the white spots and the rest of the body. The legs are sometimes brightly striped.
Araneus alsine, the strawberry spider or orange wheelweaving spider, is a species of the orb-weaving spider family, Araneidae.
Nuctenea umbratica, the walnut orb-weaver spider, is a species of spider in the family Araneidae.
Araneus cavaticus, commonly known as the barn spider, is a common orb-weaver spider native to North America. They are around three-quarters of an inch (20 mm) in length and are usually yellow and brown in color. They often construct their webs in wooden human structures, hence their common name. The species is notable for being the basis for the character Charlotte in the book Charlotte's Web by American writer E. B. White.
Araneus illaudatus, commonly called the Texas orb-weaver, is a species of spider belonging to the family Araneidae. It has a rather restricted range in western Texas and eastern Arizona.
Araneus marmoreus, commonly called the marbled orb-weaver, is a species of spider belonging to the family Araneidae. It is sometimes also called the pumpkin spider from the resemblance of the female's inflated abdomen to an orange pumpkin. It has a Holarctic distribution.
Araneus angulatus is a species of orb-weaving spiders found in the Palearctic realm. It resembles the European garden spider, Araneus diadematus, but has distinctive tubercles on its abdomen. The species was first described in Aranei Svecici in 1757, where it was the first species described, making Araneus angulatus the first scientific name of an animal that is still in use.
Tetragnatha extensa is a species of spider found across the Northern Hemisphere. It has an elongate body, up to 11 mm (0.43 in) long, and adopts a straight line posture when alarmed. It lives on low vegetation in damp areas, and feeds on flying insects which it catches in its web.
Neoscona domiciliorum, commonly known as the spotted orbweaver or redfemured spotted orbweaver, is a spider in the family Araneidae. The specific epithet domiciliorum means "of dwellings" in Latin and refers to the fact that this species is often found living on buildings. Their bites are not known to cause serious harm in humans.
Araneus mitificus, commonly known as the kidney garden spider or pale orb weaver, is a species of orb-weaver spider found in South, East, and Southeast Asia.
Herennia multipuncta, commonly known as the ornamental tree trunk spider, is a species of spider in the family Araneidae native to Asia. It exhibits sexual dimorphism, the female being much larger than the male. It weaves a small web on the trunk of a tree or the wall of a building and is well camouflaged by its dappled colouration.
The spider species Plebs eburnus is commonly referred to as the eastern grass orb-weaver or the eastern bush orb-weaver, and sometimes more simply as the bush orb-weaver. It is an orb-weaver spider from the family Araneidae endemic to Australia. It is a very common spider with distinctive white markings, which give it the species name eburnus pertaining to ivory. It is found in scrub and tall grasses where the female constructs a vertical web usually no more than 2 metres from the ground, and stays there day and night. The web of some of these spiders has been seen to be decorated with nearly vertical stabilimentum. The stabilimentum of the related P.cyphoxis is usually observed vertical.
Neoscona theisi is a species of spider in the family Araneidae. Spiders in the genus Neoscona have a mostly pantropical distribution.
Araniella opisthographa is a species of orb weaver in the spider family Araneidae.
Cladomelea debeeri is a species of spider in the orb-weaver spider family Araneidae, found in South Africa. It was first described in 2004. Cladomelea species, including C. debeeri, are "bolas spiders" – adult females capture their prey by using one or more sticky drops on the end of a line which they swing, usually catching male moths attracted by the release of an analogue of the attractant sex pheromone produced by the female moth. Juvenile and adult male bolas spiders do not use a bolas, catching prey with their legs alone.
Cyrtarachne inaequalis is a species of spider in the orb-weaver spider family Araneidae, found in India, Myanmar, China and Korea. Spiders in the genus Cyrtarachne construct "spanning-thread webs" rather than the more typical orb webs of the family Araneidae. These webs have a small number of radii and instead of a tight spiral of sticky threads, the sticky spanning threads are widely spaced and do not form a spiral. When prey is caught on one of the spanning threads, one end comes loose, and the prey, often a moth, dangles from the other end until hauled in by the spider.
Exechocentrus lancearius is a species of spider in the orb-weaver spider family Araneidae, found only in Madagascar. It was initially described from a partial specimen of an adult female. The first description of a complete specimen and its prey-catching behaviour was published in 2012. E. lancearius is a bolas spider. Rather than using a web, adult females catch their prey by using a line with one or two sticky drops which they swing.