Eriophora transmarina – The Australian Orb Weaver Spider (?)

Eriophora transmarina aka Common Garden Orb Weaver Spider, Australian Garden Orb Weaver Spider

Eriophora transmarina aka Common Garden Orb Weaver Spider, Australian Garden Orb Weaver Spider

Eriophora transmarina aka Common Garden Orb Weaver Spider, Australian Garden Orb Weaver Spider

Eriophora transmarina aka Common Garden Orb Weaver Spider, Australian Garden Orb Weaver Spider (?)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
My Garden, Adelaide, South Australia –

Photos & Text: Michal Dutkiewicz

I found this spider in a Cullen australasicum, a native pea bush on the side of the road between the towns of Keyneton and Sedan in the Murraylands. I am not absolutely certain if this is another version of this species – There are so many! Each of us have many Australian Orb Weavers in our gardens – They are abundant! They have many different patterns and colours – As far as I know, these are not separate subspecies, but adaptations individuals make to camouflage themselves – I don’t know the mechanism by which this is achieved, but with each new moult, they can change their colour and pattern to blend in with their surroundings of the site they rest on during the day. Like other orb weavers, they industriously spin their new web every night and take up a position in its centre – They are not considered harmful to humans, but we all know the feeling of walking into one of these webs!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_garden_orb_weaver_spider

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Eriophora pustulosa – Knobbled Orb Weaver Spider (?)

Eriophora pustulosa aka Common Garden Orbweb Spider, Knobbled Orb Weaver Spider

Eriophora pustulosa aka Common Garden Orbweb Spider, Knobbled Orb Weaver Spider

Eriophora pustulosa aka Common Garden Orbweb Spider, Knobbled Orb Weaver Spider
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Adelaide Botanic Garden – January 18th, 2014 – warm, pleasant conditions

Photos & Text: Michal Dutkiewicz

Here’s a species I hadn’t seen before – It was pretending to be a dead bud – Adam Dutkiewicz spotted it in a bush with scented flowers that looked like over-sized jasmine, but the leaves were stumpier, waxier and thicker (I am sure the plant wasn’t an indigenous species) – It was resting only a few leaves away from a Pink Flower Spider with green legs that was devouring a Honey Bee. Adam said his eyes were so bad he had to ask me over to confirm his suspicions that it was indeed a spider – It was so well-comouflaged that I needed to see it through the macro lens to be sure it was more than a blot on the foliage. Adam estimated it was about 2 centimetres long. Eriophoras change their colour and pattern as they moult to better blend with the rest position they hide in during the day – Consequently, it comes in a wide range of colours and patterns. It looks a lot like the other Common Garden Orb Weaver Spider, Eriophora transmarina, except the Knobbled species has characteristic spiny lumps; a cluster near its tail on the back of the abdomen and two larger ones higher up nearer the front of the abdomen. By Evening and night, these Orb Weavers take up a position in the centre of their circular webs and catch prey. They are very common in Southern and Eastern Australia and now have occupied New Zealand.

http://www.findaspider.org.au/find/spiders/612.htm

http://www.terrain.net.nz/friends-of-te-henui-group/spiders/eriophora-pustulosa.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eriophora_pustulosa

Green Orb-Weaver Spider

Eriophora circulissparsus aka Araneus circulissparsus

Eriophora circulissparsus aka Araneus circulissparsus

Eriophora circulissparsus aka Araneus circulissparsus

Eriophora circulissparsus aka Araneus circulissparsus

Eriophora circulissparsus aka Araneus circulissparsus
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Mount Barker (Longleat Property) – December 15th, 2014

Photos & Text: Karin Dawson

Of the 30 spider genera in Australia, Eriphora is the largest with 110 recorded species. This genus comprises the Orb Weavers, which construct distinctive wheel-shaped webs at dusk. None of the Eriphora are venomous to humans.

Eriophora circulissparsus (formerly Araneus circulissparsus) is a pretty light green orb weaver with a yellow abdomen, beautifully patterned with red and green markings. This is a nocturnal species, and not often seen. I have encountered E. circulissparsus three times in my garden over the last several months. The first two sightings were during the day, and the spiders were resting amongst daisy flowers and leaves. The third sighting was at sunset, where the spider was hard at work constructing her web.

E. circulissparsus is a relatively small species, with the female averaging 5 – 7 mm in diameter, though each of my three individuals measured 8 – 10 mm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eriophora

Austracantha minax – A Spiderly Seasons Greeting

Austracantha minax aka Christmas Spider or Jewel Spider

Austracantha minax aka Christmas Spider, Jewel Spider

Austracantha minax aka Christmas Spider, Jewel Spider, Six-spined Spider, Spiny Spider
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Mount Barker (Longleat Property), South Australia – December 9th, 2014 – in garden

Photos & Text: Karin Dawson
Austracantha minax (commonly known as the Christmas Spider – also Jewel Spider, Six-spined Spider or Spiny Spider) is a particularly colourful species of orb weaver endemic to Australia, and can be found all over the continent. Formerly Gasteracantha minax, this beautiful spider is most abundant during the summer months leading up to Christmas – hence its name.

These very timid spiders are relatively small – the females grow up to 12 mm, males only 5 mm. These heavily armoured spiders are a shiny black with variable white, yellow and orange patterns, and six distinctive spines protruding their abdomen.

These social spiders can be found in large communal aggregations of overlapping orb webs, and unlike other orb weavers, they do not destroy their webs at dawn.

Interestingly, any female Austracantha minax born later in the summer season is completely black (melanic) though they are the same shape are their colourful counterparts. The reason for this is unknown.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austracantha_minax