Monday, April 15, 2013

Spiney Orb Weaver Spider


Spiney Orb Weaver Spider (Gasteracantha canciformis).  Found here in Florida most often around citrus trees....both in groves and suburban yards.
 

Known locally as the "crab spider" due to their crablike carapace,  they belong to the family of orb weavers, Arneidae, and are quite harmless.
 


The Spiney Orb Weaver spins a large and strong web (like the Barn Orb Weaver  Araneus cavaticus  in Charlotte's Web) with a distinctive curiosity....random tufts of silk, which entomologists speculate are there to warn birds and flying insects not to fly into the web.

1 comment:

  1. nice macros- have not seen one with those colors before

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