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

Species Leucauge licina - Dominican Spider

Unknown Spider - Leucauge licina Alcimosphenus licinus - Leucauge licina - female Alcimosphenus licinus - Leucauge licina - female Alcimosphenus licinus - Leucauge licina - female Unknown Red/Orange Spider with Blue-Tipped Abdomen - Leucauge licina Unknown Red/Orange Spider with Blue-Tipped Abdomen - Leucauge licina Alcimosphenus licinus - Dominican Spider - Leucauge licina - female Alcimosphenus licinus - Dominican Spider - Leucauge licina - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order Araneae (Spiders)
Infraorder Araneomorphae (True Spiders)
No Taxon (Entelegynae)
Family Tetragnathidae (Long-jawed Orb Weavers)
Genus Leucauge
Species licina (Dominican Spider)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Alcimosphenus licinus
Size
Females: 6-10mm, Males 1-1.8mm
Identification
Female characterized by bright red abdomen and cephalothorax with black markings and two parallel rows of trichobothria on the fourth femurs (they look like a eyelashes). The elongated "tail" is sometimes forked and sometimes pointed, which appears to be a geographic variation according to Levi's description.(1)


The male is tiny in size and orange in coloration. Has an oval abdomen with a dark posterior patch and ventrally a pair of white patches. The palps are rather large and bulbous in comparison to the spider's body size.(2)
Range
Endemic to the West Indies.
Remarks
Possibly a recent invasive/adventive species to Florida. Formerly placed in Alcimosphenus, synonymized with Leucuage by Ballesteros, J. A. & Hormiga, G., 2021.(3)
See Also
Florinda coccinea - similar coloration and shape:


Chrysso nigriceps is another lookalike. See: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/392323166
Works Cited
1.Identity and placement of species of the orb weaver genus Alcimosphenus (Araneae, Tetragnathidae)
Herbert W. Levi. 2005. Journal of Arachnology 33:753–757.
2.On the tetragnathid genera Alcimosphenus, Leucauge, Mecynometa and Opas (Araneae, Tetragnathidae)
Herbert W. Levi. 2008. The Journal of Arachnology 36:167–170.
3.Molecular phylogeny of the orb-weaving spider genus Leucauge and the intergeneric relationships of Leucauginae
Ballesteros, J. A. & Hormiga, G. 2021. Invertebrate Systematics 35(8): 922-939.