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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynae » Orb Weavers (Araneidae) » Eriophora » Eriophora ravilla

Species Eriophora ravilla

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Orb Weaver - Eriophora ravilla spider - Eriophora ravilla Orange Spider - Eriophora ravilla - female Spider - Eriophora ravilla? - Eriophora ravilla Orb Weaver - Eriophora ravilla unknown spider - Eriophora ravilla Florida Spider for ID - Eriophora ravilla Neoscona crucifera? - Eriophora ravilla
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 Eriophora
Species ravilla (Eriophora ravilla)
Other Common Names
Tropical Orb Weaver
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
See the World Spider Catalog.
Explanation of Names
Eriophora ravilla (C. L. Koch, 1844)
Size
12-24 mm for females
9-13 mm for males
Identification
Generally dull brown, sometimes with white or yellow "shoulders" on the abdomen. An alternate color form, seen sometimes in males and sub-adult females, has a large yellow-green patch on top of the abdomen.


Also, according to Levi: "Some females are almost white, others nearly black. Some have an irregular asymmetrical longitudinal white pigment patch which may be a narrow line or widest anteriorly just over the heart area." (Levi, 1970)


Another interesting color/pattern variation includes a series of black circles with a white or colored patch in the middle, as in this example (be careful not to mistake this variation for Araniella displicata):


And yet another one of the many variations includes a series of pigment spots that create a pattern similar to a cross, as in this example:


young juvenile


Males - 9-13 mm, legs banded, second tibia curved with distal hump. (see drawing 8(1))
Range
Seems to be mostly a southern species, found mainly in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas along the Gulf Coast of the United States. (1)
Remarks
These spiders spin their webs, which can be many feet wide, in the evening. At night they sit in the web. By day, they will usually hide in a rolled-up leaf somewhere near the edge of the web.
See Also
Araneus gemma - brown with central dorsal white line.
Neoscona crucifera
Print References
Florida's Fabulous Spiders (2) p. 36
Internet References
www.bio-nica.info - PDF article, The Ravilla Group of the Orbweaver Genus Eriophora in North America by Herbert W. Levi, 1970
Works Cited
1.The Ravilla group of the orbweaver genus Eriophora in North America (Araneae: Araneidae)
Herbert W. Levi. 1970. Psyche 77: 280-302.
2.Florida's Fabulous Spiders
Sam Marshall, G. B. Edwards. 2002. World Publications.
Contributed by Lynette Elliott on 13 July, 2005 - 6:53pm
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, cheins, Mike Quinn, Mandy Howe
Last updated 9 June, 2017 - 10:14am

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