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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynae » Orb Weavers (Araneidae) » Araneus
Photo#485216
Orb Weaver - Araneus
Copyright © 2011 kmlkml

Orb Weaver - Araneus
San Diego (east of the beaches, near La Mesa), San Diego County, California, USA
January 15, 2011
Size: Main body is about 1 inch
I could only get a couple of pictures. He (or she) is curled up in the middle of a web hanging up high. I touched it gently and it moved its legs a little, but that's it. Didn't change position. Saw him in the afternoon. Main body is about 1 inch long and at least 3/4 inches wide. The closest I could come up with after looking at pictures is some sort of wolf spider?
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Contributed by kmlkml on 15 January, 2011 - 6:33pm
Last updated 30 January, 2011 - 8:11pm

Moved
Moved from Orb Weavers.
… john and jane balaban, 30 January, 2011 - 8:11pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Spiders.
… Eric R. Eaton, 16 January, 2011 - 1:26am login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… Kevin Hall, 15 January, 2011 - 9:34pm login or register to post comments

Looks to have shoulders, so we
would say Araneus, but we're not getting a sense of the color pattern, so can't guess at species.
… john and jane balaban, 15 January, 2011 - 8:17pm login or register to post comments

 
One of Levi's large orb weave
One of Levi's large orb weavers (diadematus group), it would seem. I'm going to guess A. gemma, based on the purplish-brown reflective dorsum and the small splotches of white anteriorly on the abdomen. Second guess would be A. andrewsi.

-K
… Kevin Pfeiffer, 16 January, 2011 - 3:31am login or register to post comments

 
A. gemma
would also be my guess at this point. I don't see any reason to keep the second image. I think we should frass it unless someone else thinks it might be useful.
… Lynette Elliott, 16 January, 2011 - 12:07pm login or register to post comments

 
Quite right.
Overlooked the shoulders. :)
… Ken Wolgemuth, 15 January, 2011 - 8:19pm login or register to post comments

Orb weaver, as Ken says
I'm not an expert, either, but I can pass along the information that wolf spiders walk along the ground or in vegetation and hunt. They don't build webs and wait for prey.
… R. Berg, 15 January, 2011 - 7:39pm login or register to post comments

If it's hanging in a web...
...then it's not a Wolf Spider. It looks to be an Orb Weaver of some sort--maybe something in/near Neoscona?



The spider experts will let you know if I'm anywhere close. :)
… Ken Wolgemuth, 15 January, 2011 - 6:51pm login or register to post comments

 
Looks very close to the picture you posted
Especially how its legs are curled up. The coloring on mine is definitely darker than that and more brownish. If it is still around tomorrow I will try to get better pictures.
… kmlkml, 15 January, 2011 - 8:51pm login or register to post comments

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