Comments on: Southern Spiders #1

By: Matthew Sarver

Matthew Sarver — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:18:25 +0000

Hi Jennifer! Really sorry for the slow reply - the blog has been slipping lately as I have been swamped with work. I think I know exactly what spider you are seeing. Leucauge venusta, the Orchard Orbweaver. Does it match this photo? This is a small spider that is common throughout the east.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 24 May 2010 01:53:21 +0000

I came across your site trying to identify some spiders in my garden. Can these have a orangey/red almost flourescent looking spot on the bottom of them? I am wondering if what I have found may have been an immature black widow, but it had green legs? I found the whole idea of web decoration fascinating, and will need to learn more. Thanks!

By: Matthew Sarver

Matthew Sarver — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:05:55 +0000

Jeff – thanks for the comments! Yes, the Latin neuter plural is “-a” (singular “um”). Good point about the sundew, although many of the Mangora webs I see are placed rather higher in the vegetation than a sundew flower would be, so you have to wonder if the insects can distinguish. Remember too, that many of the web decorations studied in the research have been Argiope, which often have much larger, elongated zigzag stabilimenta, that wouldn’t look like a flower or floral nectar guide at all, so there must be more to the decorations of those species, at least. It’s a fascinating topic!

By: Jeffrey Gordon

Jeffrey Gordon — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:19:46 +0000

Hey Matt–

I’ve always supposed that stabilimenta (Is that the plural? What a great word!) were decoy flowers, meant to attract prey. They so closely resemble the flowers of sundews, in their size, color, and height above ground that it’s tempting to assume that must be the reason.

Thanks for suggesting some other possibilities.

See you soon!

By: Matthew Sarver

Matthew Sarver — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:05:41 +0000

Thanks Dawn! Good observation about the resemblance to a seedhead. Kinda reminds me of a pipewort (Eriocaulon) flower head too. Wonder what it looks like to a bee?

By: Dawn Fine

Dawn Fine — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:56:20 +0000

I tend to like spiders..just not crawling on me in the middle of the night.
I do like to watch them..try to photograph them and their beautiful webs.
This is a very cool spider with interesting web.
Its web sorta looks like a dandelion puff of seeds.
Smart spider!
Thanks for the informative post.
And thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting!