Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Photo#493524
Araneus Spider With Ichneumon? Parasite - Araneus miniatus - male

Araneus Spider With Ichneumon? Parasite - Araneus miniatus - Male
Montrose, Laurens County, Georgia, USA
February 24, 2011
Size: 3 to 4 mm
Found on unknown bush in heavily forested area. I got the spider down to genus, but the exact species is unfamiliar to me. As to the parasite, this is a similar situation as another series I shot back in late December of a Theridion with the same parasite. See:
The spider appears to be male.

Images of this individual: tag all
Araneus Spider With Ichneumon? Parasite - Araneus miniatus - male Araneus Spider With Ichneumon? Parasite - Araneus miniatus - male Araneus Spider With Ichneumon? Parasite - Araneus miniatus - male

Moved
Moved from Araneus.

Choices are
miniatus, partitus & calusa. Of those partitus says the male has slight humps... and I'd say these are more than slight. A. calusa should have red marks/spots and these look black to me. That leaves miniatus. The male miniatus is supposed to have a shallow longitudinal groove on the carapace which I think I can see the second image when looking at it in full size.

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

We always get these confused with Mimetus,
but given it's Araneus, we would agree with Lynette on miniatus.

Araneus miniatus
is my guess. Juvenile male.