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)]