Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Pack Forest
Washington State
July 10-12, 2009
Details...

Photos from the 2009 gathering
 
Photos from the 2008 gathering in Tennessee
 
Photos from the 2007 gathering in Minnesota

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynes » Orb Weavers (Araneidae) » Micrathena » Spined Micrathena (Micrathena gracilis)
Photo#339175
Can this be anything but Spined Micrathena? - Micrathena gracilis - female
Copyright © 2009 S. E. Seater

Can this be anything but Spined Micrathena? - Micrathena gracilis - Female
Raleigh, near Rts 50 and US 70, Wake County, North Carolina, USA
September 30, 2009
Size: est 10 mm
Before paging thru the spider book, I thought there was a spider on debris in this kind of web I saw over the years in my woods. Now I see the unconventional shape of this orb weaver. She has been between a maple trunk and a juniper at about my eye level for weeks. When I approached she ran up to the tree trunk where it was too dark to photograph her. After 4-5 days of once a day approaches, she started returning to the web right away and then I could get within inches of her.

Images of this individual: tag all
Can this be anything but Spined Micrathena? - Micrathena gracilis - female Can this be anything but Spined Micrathena? - Micrathena gracilis Can this be anything but Spined Micrathena? - Micrathena gracilis - female
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by S. E. Seater on 1 October, 2009 - 5:25am
Last updated 2 October, 2009 - 10:11pm

This spider got whiter
as she aged over the next two weeks.
… S. E. Seater, 10 November, 2009 - 3:48pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… S. E. Seater, 2 October, 2009 - 10:11pm login or register to post comments

Spiny crab garden weaver
I found one of these in my back yard( Charleston SC) today, so beautiful. I watched her for a while working on her web. Amazing creature ! Who can say there is no God ? I am always amazed at these and my other big garden spiders. They always find the buggy areas :)
… SCPoodlemom, 1 October, 2009 - 11:39am login or register to post comments

No
No, it can't be anything else. This is one very distinctive species:-) Great patience and persistence on your part, and lovely results, too. Thanks for sharing!
… Eric R. Eaton, 1 October, 2009 - 9:44am login or register to post comments

 
Thanks, Eric.
I went back a day later to measure her and she went 4 ft to the juniper foliage instead of 4 inches to the maple trunk for the first time. But she went there so slowly that I could measure her and once she was there I even clumsily touched her with the metal ruler without her moving. She was 7mm long and her abdomen was 4mm high.

My female was much more black than many others pictured. Is that maturity or normal variation?
… S. E. Seater, 2 October, 2009 - 11:21pm login or register to post comments

Spined Micrathena, looks like it to me
I think you're right about Spined Micrathena, especially as an adult. The other day I mistook adult White Micrathena to be young Spined. Other than that, I don't know what would look like it. I'll paste in some reference shots.

Spined Micrathena


White Micrathena
… Andrew Williams, 1 October, 2009 - 9:27am login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2009 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Site Map
Contact