openfield orbweaver

(Araneus pratensis)

Conservation Status
openfield orbweaver
Photo by Babette Kis
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Openfield orbweaver is a small sedentary spider. It occurs in the United States from Maine to North Carolina, west to South Dakota and eastern Texas, in Florida, and in southern Canada in Ontario and Manitoba. It is found from May to September in fields, meadows, and forage crops, including alfalfa.

Females are to 316 (3.98 to 4.90 mm) in length and have a ¼ to (7 to 10 mm) legspan.

The front part of the body (cephalothorax) is low, narrowed in front, and much smaller than the abdomen. The upper side (carapace) is yellowish-brown with a squarish yellow blotch in the middle. There are no hairs (setae). The underside is dark brown.

There are eight eyes arranged in two parallel rows of four eyes each. The rear row is curved forward, the front row is straight or slightly curved backward. All of the eyes are small, but the middle (median) eyes are larger than the outer (lateral) eyes. The area around the middle eyes (median ocular area) is black and the area around the lateral eyes is black.

The abdomen is large and elliptical. It is highest in front, and it slightly hangs over the spinnerets in back. The upper side is smooth, shiny, whitish, and hairless. There is a brown, sometimes indistinct, longitudinal line or thin stripe in the middle and a broad, distinct, brown stripe on each side of the middle. The lateral stripes darken to almost black toward the rear. The sides of the abdomen are brownish. The underside is whitish with a black spot near the rear.

The legs are short, spiny, and yellowish, with no dark rings. The front two pairs project forward, the hind two pairs project backward. The last segment (tarsus) on each leg has three claws at the tip, though these are not visible to the naked eye.

The male is smaller, (3.1 to 3.6 mm) in length.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Female Body Length: to 316 (3.98 to 4.90 mm)

Male Body Length: (3.1 to 3.6 mm)

Legspan: ¼ to (7 to 10 mm)

 
     
 

Web

 
 

The web is large and oval. It is called an “orb”, which gives this family of spiders its common name. It is about 8 (20 cm) in diameter and hangs vertically. The spider hunts from the center of the web at night. No retreat is constructed.

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Fields, meadows, and forage crops

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

May to August

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

Adults are active at night.

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

 

 
     
 

Food

 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

7, 24, 29, 30, 82, 83.

 
  3/9/2023      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Class Arachnida (arachnids)  
 

Order

Araneae (spiders)  
 

Suborder

Araneomorphae (typical spiders)  
  Infraorder Entelegynae (entelegyne spiders)  
  Superfamily Araneoidea (araneoid spiders)  
 

Family

Araneidae (orbweavers)  
 

Subfamily

Araneinae (typical orbweavers)  
 

Genus

Araneus (angulate and roundshouldered orbweavers)  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Araneus praticola

Araneus reptilis

Epeira reptilis

Singa listeri

Singa pratensis

Singa rubella

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

dark-striped orbweaver

openfield orbweaver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Carapace

The hard, upper (dorsal), shell-like covering (exoskeleton) of the body or at least the thorax of many arthropods and of turtles and tortoises. On crustaceans, it covers the cephalothorax. On spiders, the top of the cephalothorax made from a series of fused sclerites.

 

Cephalothorax

The front part of the body of various arthropods, composed of the head region and the thoracic area fused together. Eyes, legs, and antennae are attached to this part.

 

Seta

A stiff, hair-like process on the outer surface of an organism. In Lepidoptera: A usually rigid bristle- or hair-like outgrowth used to sense touch. In mosses: The stalk supporting a spore-bearing capsule and supplying it with nutrients. Plural: setae.

 

Tarsus

On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.

 

Tibia

The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot). The fifth segment of a spider leg or palp.

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Babette Kis

 
 

Araneus Pratensis openfield orbweaver pictures.

Araneus pratensis, openfield orbweaver spiders, photographed at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI.

These spiders were seen in late summer, between September 9 and September 20, with webs connected to grasses. They're very small, about 2 1/2 to 3 mm. Hub of their webs were about 8" to 16" from the ground.

  openfield orbweaver  
           
    openfield orbweaver   openfield orbweaver  
           
    openfield orbweaver      
           
 

Araneus pratensis openfield orbweaver

 
    openfield orbweaver   openfield orbweaver  
           
 
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Araneus pratensis
larry522
  Araneus pratensis  

 

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Other Videos
 
  Araneus pratensis fatal attraction!
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About

Apr 5, 2019

Araneus pratensis (Araneidae). An assertive male (on the left) and defensive female (on the right). The male approached the female with the intention to mate. It ended badly.

 

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this arachnid.

 
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  Babette Kis
9/20/2023

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine County, WI

 

openfield orbweaver  
  Babette Kis
9/16/2023

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine County, WI

 

openfield orbweaver  
  Babette Kis
9/9/2023

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine County, WI

 

openfield orbweaver  
  Babette Kis
9/1/2021

Location: Barnes Prairie Remnant, Racine County, WI

 

openfield orbweaver  
  Babette Kis
9/22/2020

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine County, Wisconsin

 

openfield orbweaver  
           
 
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Created: 3/9/2023

Last Updated:

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