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

Species Araneus thaddeus - Lattice Orbweaver

Orb Weaver - Araneus thaddeus Araneus thaddeus - Lattice orb weaver - Araneus thaddeus - female ID for juvenile spider - Araneus thaddeus orbweaver spider (?Araneus thaddeus) - Araneus thaddeus Thomisidae? - Araneus thaddeus - female Araneus thaddeus - Lattice Orbweaver - female? - Araneus thaddeus - female Orbweaver sp.? - Araneus thaddeus Araneus thaddeus in Virginia in January - Araneus thaddeus - 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 Araneus
Species thaddeus (Lattice Orbweaver)
Other Common Names
Lattice spider
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Explanation of Names
Patronym for Dr. Thaddeus Wm. Harris, a great friend of Hentz.
Identification
The lattice like retreat is a key identifier of the species.

They also build two different types of orb web. One is the regular type, and the other is the Zygiella x-notata type, which can be seen on pg. 61 of the golden guide. The retreat is always the same, regardless of the web style.

"Observations. This species, which is sometimes whitish on the abdomen, is nevertheless very readily recognized. I have seen some specimens larger than the delineation. Its dwellingplace is really beautiful; it is placed above its web, and made of the finest white silk, shining with a satin lustre; its shape is that of an inverted thimble, and it is usually placed under a leaf bent together for the purpose of affording shelter and security." Nicholas Marcellus Hentz, M.D. 1847

Male/Female

Palp

Epigynum
Range
Utah and southern Manitoba to northern New York and Massachusetts, south to Arizona and central Mexico. (1)
Food
Insects
Remarks
The female of this species can be confused with the white form of A. detrimentosus, but the venter markings are different. A. thaddeus venter looks like this:


Males are known to be confused with A. pegnia. A. pegnia males have a median apophysis with two apically directed teeth while A. thaddeus has three teeth of variable size.
Print References
The Spider Book by John Henry Comstock;Fifth printing 1980; ISBN 0-8014-0084-8

The Spiders Of The United States by Nicholas Marcellus Hentz, MD; Occasional Papers Of The Boston Society Of Natural History II 1875

Small Orb-Weavers of the Genus Araneus North of Mexico, Herbert W. Levi, 1973.(2)

The Orb-weaving Spiders of Canada and Alaska - The Insects and Arachnids of Canada Part 23 by Dondale, Redner, Paquin, & Levi.(1)
Works Cited
1.The Orb-weaving Spiders of Canada and Alaska - The Insects and Arachnids of Canada Part 23
Dondale, C.D., J.H. Redner, P, Paquin and H.W. Levi. 2003. NRC Research Press.
2.Small Orb-weavers of the Genus Araneus North of Mexico
Levi, H. W. 1973. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 145(9):473-552 .