orbweavers
(Family Araneidae)
Overview • Description • Distribution • Taxonomy
Overview |
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Araneidae is a large family of typical spiders known as orbweavers. It is the third largest family of spiders. There are 3,067 currently recognized orbweaver species in 177 genera worldwide, 180 species in North America north of Mexico, and at least 44 species in 16 genera in Minnesota. Orbweavers are found in woodlands, fields, and caves; on grasses, shrubs, and trees; and on buildings and fences. They are best known for the circular webs, called orbs, that they build. The webs consist of a framework of non-sticky threads (spokes) extending from the edge to the middle, and concentric circles of sticky threads winding to the center. |
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Description |
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Orbweavers are very diverse in size, shape, and color. They have eight small eyes in two rows. The lateral eyes are usually well separated from the median eyes. The median ocular area (MOA), the area defined by the middle four eyes, is in the shape of a trapezoid. The front part of the body (carapace) is smaller than the rear part (abdomen). The abdomen is large, rounded, and marked with lines, spots, or zig-zag patterns. The legs are short and spiny. The first and second pairs of legs project forward, the third and fourth pairs project backward. There are three claws at the end of each leg, though these are not visible without magnification. Females are much larger than males. |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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| 8/3/2022 | ||||
Taxonomy |
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| Class | Arachnida (arachnids) | ||
Order |
Araneae (spiders) | ||
Suborder |
Araneomorphae (typical spiders) | ||
| Infraorder | Entelegynae (entelegyne spiders) | ||
Superfamily |
Araneoidea (araneoid spiders) | ||
Subordinate Taxa |
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Genus Acacesia Genus Acanthepeira (star-bellied orb-web spiders) Genus Aculepeira Genus Aethriscus (bird-dropping araneid apiders) Genus Allocyclosa Genus Arachnura (scorpion-tailed spiders) Genus Araneus (angulate and roundshouldered orbweavers) Genus Araniella (cucumber spiders) Genus Argiope (garden orbweavers) Genus Artifex (leaf-curling spiders) Genus Caerostris (bark spiders) Genus Cercidia Genus Colphepeira Genus Cyclosa (trashline orbweavers) Genus Cyrtophora (tentweb weavers) Genus Eriophora Genus Eustala Genus Gasteracantha (spiny orbweavers) Genus Gea Genus Hypsosinga Genus Kaira (frilled orbweavers) Genus Larinia (grass orb-web spiders) Genus Larinioides (furrow spiders) Genus Mangora Genus Mastophora (Bolas spiders) Genus Mecynogea Genus Metazygia Genus Metepeira Genus Micrathena Genus Neoscona (spotted orbweavers) Genus Ocrepeira Genus Scoloderus Genus Singa (striped orbweavers) Genus Trichonephila (banded orb-weavers) Genus Verrucosa Genus Wagneriana Genus Zygiella |
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Synonyms |
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Common Names |
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orbweavers |
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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.
Visitor Photos |
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Margot Avey |
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I took these photos on Saturday morning about 5:30 at the Westwood Nature Center in St Louis Park. They were amazing! |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Slideshows |
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| Family Araneidae Atul Vartak |
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| Araneidae Robert Whyte |
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About
Araneids are Orb Weaver Spiders. |
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Visitor Videos |
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Share your video of this arachnid. |
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| This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link. |
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Other Videos |
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| Orb Weaver (Araneidae) Close up Carl Barrentine |
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About
Sep 8, 2009 Photographed at Grand Forks, North Dakota (07 September 2009). |
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| Araneidae Cedar Sanderson |
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About
Oct 2, 2017 An orb weaver making her web. She's not the neatest weaver, but very quick! |
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| Orbweaver (Araneidae) on Web Carl Barrentine |
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About
May 19, 2010 Photographed at Rydell NWR, Minnesota (18 May 2010). |
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Visitor Sightings |
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Report a sighting of this arachnid. |
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| This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location. |
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| Margot Avey 7/16/2022 |
Location: Westwood Nature Center in St Louis Park I took these photos on Saturday morning about 5:30 at the Westwood Nature Center in St Louis Park. They were amazing! |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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Created: 8/3/2022
Last Updated: