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New Zealand Garden Orb Spider
Hi Bugman,
Found this fascinating Orb spider in my garden. It spins dark round shaped webs. Real cute looking face on it’s back. The design was so bizarre that my friend’s thought I did some photoshop trick on the picture. Has anyone come across such a pattern on an Orb spider?
Aylwin

Hi Aylwin,
We should be able to identify this distinctive Orb Weaver when we have time to web search. Perhaps a reader knows the species.

Update: (02/17/2007) ID on the Unknown orb weaver from New Zealand
Hi again guys, I looked up New Zealand Orb Weavers on-line, and I think this is one color variety of the common New Zealand Garden Orb Weaver spider, Eriophora pustulosa. For a close up view of a very similar individual with not quite as nice ‘face’ markings, click on the image at: http://www.americanarachnology.org/HiResGallery/orb_Eriophora_pustulosa.html According to Wikipedia, the orb weaver spider genus Eriophora is widespread and mostly tropical, occurring in the Americas, Australasia and Africa. Best to you,
Susan

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