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

TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Genus Hypsosinga

Spider - Hypsosinga - male spider - Hypsosinga funebris Beautiful red spider, black legs - Hypsosinga rubens Dwarf spider, or? - Hypsosinga rubens Hypsosinga rubens  - Hypsosinga rubens - female orbweaver - Hypsosinga rubens Ceraticelus minutus - Hypsosinga Red Spider - Hypsosinga
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 Hypsosinga
Pronunciation
hip-so-SING-uh
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Explanation of Names
Hypsosinga have a higher clypeus than Singa, so "hypso" (Greek for "high") is added to make "high Singa."
Numbers
There are 5 species north of Mexico.
Size
Body length is about 5mm or less.
Identification
Separating based on field markings
H. pygmaea - abdomen black to yellow with 4 white spots, seldom with two black bands
H. groenlandica -
H. alberta -
H. rubens - look for more black around the eyes than funebris, sometimes banded legs
H. funebris - look for longitudinal lines on the legs, males have first tibiae swollen at the proximal end
Range
Hypsosinga alberta Levi, 1972: northern British Columbia, south to central Saskatchewan.(1)
Hypsosinga funebris (Keyserling, 1892): central Alberta to southern Maine, south to California, Texas, and Florida.(1)
Hypsosinga groenlandica Simon, 1889: Yukon Territory and western Northwest Territories to Greenland, south to southern British Columbia and Quebec.(1)
Hypsosinga pygmaea (Sundevall, 1831): Alaska to Newfoundland, south to Washington, Colorado, southern Illinois, and Florida.(1) (So basically everywhere in N. America except the southwestern quadrant of the USA)
Hypsosinga rubens (Hentz, 1847): western Northwest Territories to Newfoundland, south to eastern Texas and Florida.(1)
Remarks
Information on dorsal sclerites(1)
H. pygmaea - no mention of sclerites
H. groenlandica - male weak sclerite, female no sclerite
H. alberta - male weak sclerite, female no sclerite
H. rubens - no mention of sclerites
H. funebris - male with weak sclerite, female no sclerite
Print References
Dondale, C.D., J.H. Redner, P. Paquin & H.W. Levi, 2003. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 23: The orb-weaving spiders of Canada and Alaska (Araneae: Uloboridae, Tetragnathidae, Araneidae, Theridiosomatidae). NRC Research Press, Ottawa. 371 pp.
Levi, H.W., 1972. The orb-weaver genera Singa and Hypsosinga in America (Araneae: Araneidae). Psyche, Camb. 78: 229-256. [Available online in PDF format here (~7.6 MB)]
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.