The Australian garden orb weaver spider is a very common species of spider with many variants in size, shape, and colour across the coastal and northern regions of Australia. They have very large abdomens when well-fed and exhibit a tremendous colour-range from off-white through tan, brown to almost black. They have a roughly leaf-shaped pattern on the top of their abdomen with a complex outline that is darker than the surrounding area. There may also be several whitish spots or one or more stripes. The spiders' cephalothoraxes (heads) and proximal leg segments are usually darker, mostly reddish or reddish brown. They are able to change their colour with each moult to better match the background upon which they rest during the day.
Austracantha is a genus of spider with a single species, Austracantha minax, commonly known as the jewel spider or the Christmas spider. It is a member of the family Araneidae and is endemic to Australia. They are relatively small spiders, reaching a maximum total body length of only around 12 mm (0.47 in) for females, and 5 mm (0.20 in) for males. Their abdomen has six distinctive projections ("spines") that makes them easy to identify. They are predominantly a shiny black, with variable white, yellow, and orange patterns. Melanistic forms also occur during autumn. They are facultatively gregarious, and can be found in large aggregations of overlapping orb webs. They feed on small flying insects that get entangled in their webs. They are harmless to humans, though the webs can be a nuisance for bushwalkers. They are most abundant during the summer months.
Nephila is a genus of araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. Nephila consists of numerous species found in warmer regions around the world, although some species formerly included in the genus have been moved to Trichonephila. They are commonly called golden silk orb-weavers, golden orb-weavers, giant wood spiders, or banana spiders.
Trichonephila clavipes, commonly known as the golden silk orb-weaver, golden silk spider, golden orb weaver spider or colloquially banana spider, is an orb-weaving spider species which inhabits forests and wooded areas ranging from the southern US to Argentina. It is indigenous to both continental North and South America. Known for the golden color of their silk, the large size of their females, and their distinctive red-brown and yellow coloring, T. clavipes construct large, asymmetrical circular webs attached to trees and low shrubs in woods to catch small- and medium-size flying prey, mostly insects. They are excellent web-builders, producing and utilizing seven different types of silk, and they subdue their prey by injecting them with venom, as opposed to related species which immobilize their prey by wrapping them in silk first. They are not known to be aggressive towards humans, only biting out of self-defense if touched, and their relatively harmless venom has a low toxicity, posing little health concern to healthy human adults. Due to their prevalence in forests, T. clavipes may be encountered by hikers.
Nuctenea umbratica, the walnut orb-weaver spider, is a species of spider in the family Araneidae.
Araniella cucurbitina, sometimes called the "cucumber green spider", is a spider of the family Araneidae. Araniella cucurbitina is found across Europe, Western Asia, Central Asia and Japan. The cucurbitina in the name comes from the word cucurbit which is a family of plants including cucumbers.
Diabrotica undecimpunctata, the spotted cucumber beetle or southern corn rootworm, is a species of cucumber beetle that is native to North America. The species can be a major agricultural pest insect in North America. Spotted cucumber beetles cause damage to crops in the larval and adult stages of their life cycle. Larvae feed on the roots of the emerging plants, which causes the most damage since the young plants are more vulnerable. In the adult stage the beetles cause damage by eating the flowers, leaves, stems, and fruits of the plant The beetles can also spread diseases such as bacterial wilt and mosaic virus.
Argiope trifasciata is a species of spider native to North and South America, but now found around the world. It can be found in certain areas of Europe, namely the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands, and Madeira. The similar looking Argiope bruennichi is common in the Azores. They typically begin to appear during autumn from early September to late October as temperatures start dropping. In Egypt, the type locality of this spider, females were found surviving the relatively warm winter months.
Gasteracantha cancriformis is a species of orb-weaver spider. It is widely distributed in the New World.
Phonognatha graeffei, referred to as the leaf curling spider, is a common Australian spider found in woodlands and urban areas in the northeastern, eastern and southern states. A member of the family Araneidae, the orb-weavers, it was previously placed in Tetragnathidae.
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.
Cyrtophora exanthematica are tent spiders common in tropical Asia and Australia. They are commonly known as double-tailed tent spiders because of the pair of blunt projections at the end of their abdomens. They are harmless to humans.
Socca pustulosa, known as the knobbled orbweaver, is an orb-weaver spider species in the family Araneidae, and it was first described by a French scientist Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1841 from Tasmania, Australia, but later on when Walckenaer examined the specimen collected from New Zealand and renamed it as a different species- Epeira verrucosa. Until 1917, Dalmas reviewed the Australian pustulosa and New Zealand verrucosa and realized they were the same species. Although S. pustulosa has been accepted for some time in the genus of Eriophora, the evidence supporting its placement within this genus were not fully convincing. Therefore, an alternative view was proposed in 2022- a new genus established to accommodate pustulosa along with 11 other spider species from Australia; the diagnostic test based on haplotype analysis and systematic morphology study by arachnologists and found the anatomical features of male pedipalp terminal apophysis differs from other orb-web species.
Verrucosa arenata, also known as the triangle orb weaver, arrowhead spider, and arrowhead orbweaver, is a species of orb-weaver spider found across North America. It is one of the few known large orb-weaver spiders that sits facing upwards in its web. Unlike most orb-weavers, which have bulbous abdomens, V. arenata has an abdomen that is pointy and triangular, shaped like the tip of an arrow. In females, the abdomen is colored white or yellow. Additionally, V. arenata uses reeling behavior in order to capture its prey, as its webs are stronger than that of most other orb weavers. The genus name Verrucosa means "warty" in Latin, referring to the small wartlike bumps on the spider's abdomen, while the specific epithet arenata derives from Latin arena, meaning "sand".
Allocyclosa is a genus of orb weaver spiders that contains only one species, Allocyclosa bifurca. It was first described in 1887 by McCook under the name Cyrtophora bifurca, and was transferred to its own genus in 1999. It is the only Cyclosa species north of Mexico to have a forked rear tip of the abdomen hence the name bifurca, Latin for "two-pronged". The forked tip of the abdomen, bearing two humps shaped like the letter M, is a defining feature in both males and females, though it is similar to features present in certain Cyrtophora species. Both sexes are a grey-green color, though only females have an area of red on their underside between the epigynum and the spinnerets. Females are much larger than males, ranging from five to nine millimeters, while males range from two to three millimeters. Males appear to be very uncommon, but they are probably often overlooked by collectors due to their small size. In a 1977 study by Levi, only two of the nearly 350 specimens that were positively identified as Cyrtophora bifurca were males. This is a very unusual distribution; a second, less likely explanation that has been proposed is that females of the species, which have less prominent genitalia compared with those of other members of the orb-weaver family, may be parthenogenic, are able to reproduce without the help of males. Like most other members of Araneidae, these spiders build orb webs, six to eight inches in diameter, but employ an unusual form of protective mimicry. Females often sit in the middle of a vertical row of web decoration that include egg sacs and wrapped prey. Because the spider and the egg sacs have a similar color and shape, it is difficult to distinguish the egg sacs from the spider itself.
Micrathena mitrata, the white micrathena, is a species of orb weaver in the spider family Araneidae. It is found in a range from the United States to Brazil. The spider has a distinctive appearance with a shiny, black abdomen and spiky, yellowish-brown legs. Its body length ranges from 4 to 9 mm in females and 3 to 4 mm in males. The species is known for its elaborate web, which it uses to capture insects for food. Despite its fearsome appearance, Micrathena mitrata is not considered dangerous to humans and is generally regarded as a harmless spider.
Philoponella oweni is a species of spider belonging to the family Uloboridae, the cribellate orb weavers. They are around 4.7–7.1 mm long in length and are primarily found in the arid southwestern parts of the United States. These spiders are most known for being semi-social, a rare trait within spiders. Semi-social, in the case of P. oweni, refers to the coexistence of facultatively communal and solitary females within the same habitat. These groups usually form in response to environmental factors, and often never involve true cooperation. This lack of true cooperation means these spiders do not share prey items, do not work together when spinning webs and do not care for one another's young. The coexistence of both solitary and communal species within the same habitat can be explained by both tactics have similar net reproductive success values. This was can be explained by comparing the number of eggs within egg cases to the number of surviving offspring for both tactics. The number of surviving offspring of communal and solitary beings does not vary significantly, which mostly due to the parasitism by pteromalid wasps. These wasp which prefer consume and parasitize communal P. oweni webs and eggs, counteracting the increase of eggs per egg case that communal spiders tend to produce over solitary.
Araniella proxima is a species of orb weaver in the spider family Araneidae. It is found in North America, Europe, a range from Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Kazakhstan.
Mastophora hutchinsoni, also known as the American bolas spider, is a species of orb weaver in the genus Mastophora. The genus is distributed extensively throughout various subtropical geographical areas including Australia, South Africa, Oriental Asia, and the Americas and is not found in Europe. The hunting behavior of adult female M. hutchinsoni is unusual because they are bolas spiders. They mimic moth pheromones to attract male moths, and female M. hutchinsoni have evolved to alter their chemical release to target different moths. They then capture their prey with a sticky drop on the end of a silk line, resembling a bolas.
Araniella opisthographa is a species of orb weaver in the spider family Araneidae.
