Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Identification
Juvenile male
Mature Male
Mature Female
Ventral spination on tibias I and II
Kaston's how to know the spiders tells the difference between Castianeira and Micaria as
- The well marked thoracic groove in Castianeira.
- Tibiae I & II have two or three pairs of ventral spines in Castianeira
Epigynum
Palp
Range
Newfoundland west to Washington and Oregon in the northern part of its range. This species can be found south to Utah in the west but as far south as Texas and Florida in the east.
(1)Remarks
Castianeira longipalpa vs. C. variata
Kevin Pfeiffer comments here: Castianiera cf. longipalpa "Species closely resembles C. variata, from which it can be distinguished only by the genitalia characters". (Kaston)
There are no entries under C. variata and no mention of this on the info page for C. longipalpa. I'm thinking all the entries for C. longipalpa, that have not been positively ID'd, should be placed in a C. longipalpa group page. My experience with spider ID is pretty limited so rather than make any changes, I thought I'd mention this in the forums. ~ Contributed by Steve Nanz on 20 July, 2011 - 2:50am
This species is similar in general appearance to
Castianeira longipalpus. It differs at sight in having the posterior tibiae marked with distinct basal and distal yellow annulae (rings)**. Carapace dark reddish brown to nearly black with thin white hairs, darker on sides.
(2)
** We have not been able to see the yellow rings in photos of live Castianeira variata. At this point we are assuming we can't use this as a reliable field marking to distinguish C. variata from C. longipalpus.
Egg sacs are white and disc-like.
(1)Print References
Spiders of the Eastern US, Howell and Jenkins, page 265
