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
Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynae » Orb Weavers (Araneidae) » Micrathena » Spined Micrathena (Micrathena gracilis)

Species Micrathena gracilis - Spined Micrathena

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification
Spined Micrathena (Micrathena gracilis) - Female - Micrathena gracilis - female Spider IMG_2354 - Micrathena gracilis - male Spider - Micrathena gracilis spined micrathena - Micrathena gracilis Spiny-backed Orb Weaver- Ventral view - Micrathena gracilis Spined Micrathena - Micrathena gracilis St. Andrews spider unknown 2017 3 - Micrathena gracilis Spined Micrathena - Micrathena gracilis - 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 Araneidae (Orb Weavers)
Genus Micrathena
Species gracilis (Spined Micrathena)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
See the World Spider Catalog.
Explanation of Names
Latin: "slender, slight"
Size
Females 8 - 10 mm, males average 4.5 mm.
One specimen (a female) from Durham, North Carolina, 30 July, measured 11 mm from head to tip of abdomen.
Identification
Females are mostly white or pale yellow, mottled with black or brown. They have ten spines on the chunky abdomen. Size 8 - 10 mm.


Males are flat with an elongated yellowish or white abdomen. They lack all but one or two abdominal spines and are smaller than females, averaging 4.5mm in size.
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 1:20pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Hannah Nendick-Mason, Lynette Elliott, cheins, Chuck Entz
Last updated 4 February, 2023 - 8:20am

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 © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact