Leucauge venusta
Leucauge venusta, known as the orchard spider, is a long-jawed orbweaver spider that occurs from southern Canada to Colombia, along the East coast, reaching into the central US. The web is often oriented horizontally, with the spider hanging down in the center.
| Orchard spider | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Adult female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Tetragnathidae |
| Genus: | Leucauge |
| Species: | L. venusta |
| Binomial name | |
| Leucauge venusta (Walckenaer, 1842) | |
It is distinctively colored, with leaf-green legs and sides (which can sometimes vary to a dark green or even orange). The underside of its thorax is spotted with yellow and black, the top is silvery with brown and black streaks. The neon yellow, orange or red spots on the rear of the abdomen are variable in size among individuals and sometimes absent.
This species is parasitised by a wasp larva which attaches itself externally at the junction of the cephalothorax and abdomen.[1]
Gallery
.jpg)
References
- BBC "Life in the Undergrowth"/"Intimate Relations"
- Walckenaer, C. A. 1842. Histoire naturelle des Insects. Aptères. Paris, 2:1-549.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leucauge venusta. |
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.