Araneus alsine

Orange Wheelweaving Spider
Strawberry Spider
A. alsine in rolled leaf
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Genus: Araneus
Species: A. alsine
Binomial name
Araneus alsine
(Walckenaer, 1802)

The Strawberry Spider or Orange Wheelweaving Spider (Araneus alsine) is a species of the orb-weaving spider (Araneidae) family.

Description

Araneus alsine, dorsal view

As one of its common names suggests, A. alsine may appear somewhat like a strawberrywith a large, round, reddish, dotted abdomen.

Females can reach sizes of up to 15 mm, with the color of the almost globular opisthosoma ranging from beige to orange. Many yellowish dots spread over the surface.

Habits

A. alsine builds small webs near the ground and waits near them in leaves that it has rolled together. The species can be found on moist forest clearings and meadows.

Mating occurs in June and July, eggs are laid until August. The spiderlings soon hatch, overwinter in a subadult stadium and are full-grown in early summer next year.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Araneus alsine.
Wikispecies has information related to: Araneus alsine
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/8/2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.