Numbers
There are 13 species in North America north of Mexico:
Eustala anastera (Walckenaer)
Eustala bifida (Cambridge 1904)
Eustala brevispina (Gertsch & Davis 1936)
Eustala californiensis (Keyserling 1885)
Eustala cameronensis (Gertsch & Davis 1936)
Eustala cazieri (Levi 1977)
Eustala cepina (Walckenaer 1841)
Eustala clavispina (Cambridge 1889)
Eustala conchlea (McCook 1888)
Eustala devia (Gertsch & Mulaik 1936)
Eustala eleuthra (Levi 1977)
Eustala emertoni (Banks 1904)
Eustala rosae (Chamberlin & Ivie 1935)
Identification
Eustala in the East & Canada (see below for the southern tips of FL & TX)
E. anastera (Levi pg. 114) - Females 5.4 to 10 mm, Males 3.9 to 9.5 mm. (small ones came from FL)
Female has a very long scape, abdomen longer than wide with a distinct dorsal hump; pattern variable, some females have two humps in a line (one had three); larger and darker than E. emertoni & cepina. Males differ from E. rosae, emertoni & cepina by having a row of three to five short macrosetae on the venter of the second femur (rarely in small FL specimens there is only one). May be the only one that overwinters at a juvenile.
Habitat - Goldenrod fields, open wooded areas, marsh (diverse habitats)
Pattern and coloration are quite variable:
E. cepina (Levi, pg. 118) - Females 3.4 to 7.9 mm, Males 2.5 to 4.3 mm. (smallest ones came from FL)
Legs slightly banded, abdomen is triangular almost as wide as long; it may lack dorsal pattern, or have longitudinal line down the middle. It looks a lot like E. anastera.
Habitat - lake shores of Michigan and Wisconsin, fields, pine dunes, ponds, gardens, oak (seems to prefer wetter areas than E.anastera)
Levi 239
E. emertoni (Levi, pg. 120) - Females ~ 3.4 to 7.6 mm, Males 3.8 to 5 mm
Legs with only femora banded, abdomen oval without hump.
Habitat - fields, pine forest, marshes.
Levi 258
Levi 260
Eustala in the West
(also found here is E. anastera)
E. conchlea (Levi, pg. 122) - Females 4.6 to 7.9 mm, Males 4.3 to 5.2 mm. Females have black rings around PMEs (specimens from AZ tend to be large)
Habitat - grassy fields, tall weeds & reeds
E. californiensis (Levi, pg. 104) - Females 4 to 7 mm, Males 3.6 mm
(females abdomen usually narrow, both have sides with gray lines)
Habitat - not described
E. rosae (Levi, pg. 112) - Female 6.8 to 9 mm, Males 5 to 5.9 mm
(look for the three posterior turbercles in a row on the abdomen)
Habitat - montane forest, juniper woodland, creosote bush
Eustala in the southern tip of FL
(also found here are E. anastera, E. cepina & E. emertoni)
E. cazieri
E. eleuthera
Eustala in the southern tip of TX
(also found here are E. anastera, E. cepina & E. emertoni)
E. bifida
E. brevispina
E. clavispina
E. cameronensis
E. devia
Range
- E. anastera - Widespread
- E. cepina - Widespread in the East.
- E. emertoni - Widespread in the East.
- E. bifida - Very southern tip of TX.
- E. brevispina - Very southern tip of TX.
- E. cameronensis - Very southern tip of TX.
- E. clavispina - Very southern tip of TX.
- E. devia - Very southern tip of TX
- E. rosae - CA, OR, AZ, NM
- E. californiensis - Southwestern CA.
- E. conchlea - Coastal CA, southern AZ.
- E. cazieri - Very southern tip of FLA.
- E. eleuthra - Very southern tip of FL.
The three species found in Canada are
- E. anastera
- E. cepina
- E. emertoni
Habitat
- E. cepina - lake shores, grass, fields, mixed forest, urban areas, quite variable
- E. conchlea - grassland, reeds along a lagoon
- E. emertoni - woods, grass, fields, swamps
- E. rosae - montane forest and juniper woodland
Internet References
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www.biodiversitylibrary.org - PDF, The American Orb-weaver Genera Cyclosa, Metazygia and Eustala North of Mexico, Levi, 1977. Pg. 62
