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Golden Orbweaver

Posted by bugman August 23rd, 2010 at 8:31 am

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Orb Weavers

Orchid Spider?
Location:  Southeast
August 22, 2010 5:22 pm
This spider had spun a beautiful web with a zig zag down the middle. We figured it was some type of orb spider and ran to the computer to check it out on WTB. Seems to fit the descrip of a Orchid Spider. Are we correct. It is on the corner of our deck door… should we leave it be? Do the markings mean anything?
dlhickory

argiope aurantia dlhickory 208x300 Golden Orbweaver

Golden Orbweaver

Dear dlhickory,
This is a Golden Orbweaver, Argiope aurantia, a spider frequently called a Writing Spider because of the zigzag stabilimentum it weaves into its web (See BugGuide).  We don’t know where you got the information about the Orchid Spider because it is not on our website, and a web search of those terms brings up information on spider orchids.

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Comments 4

  1. cali17 wrote:

    I think this person means “orchard” spider, which is also a commonly seen orbweaver in the gardens.

    Posted 23 Aug 2010 at 10:50 pm
  2. bugman wrote:

    We also suspected the same, but we hate making assumptions about our reader’s letters. We were hoping dlhickory would write with a clarification.

    Posted 24 Aug 2010 at 12:18 am
  3. Valeria wrote:

    I was perusing your site and got curious about this. I did some digging and found a paper at bio-nica.info (here: http://www.bio-nica.info/biblioteca/Tso2006SpidersColorful.pdf) and they gave the Orchid Spider’s proper name as Leucauge magnifica. Not sure if that helps but thought I’d let you know what I found. =) I tried looking for pictures as well, but all of the ones I found of a high enough resolution to actually attempt a decent identification were labeled as Orchid Spiders and were actually Orchard Spiders.

    Posted 27 Sep 2011 at 7:31 pm
  4. bugman wrote:

    Thanks so much for the link. We agree with you that the Orchid Spider is probably a mistake and that the Orchard Spider is the indicated species.

    Posted 27 Sep 2011 at 11:37 pm

Trackbacks & Pingbacks 2

  1. From Golden Orbweaver Egg Sacs | What's That Bug? on 20 Sep 2010 at 10:00 am

    [...] Hickroy, NC September 19, 2010 7:24 pm Dear Bugman, A few weeks ago you helped identify a Golden Orb Spider for us. We have enjoyed watching it spin and catch it’s prey. We just came back from a camping [...]

  2. From Mating Golden Orbweavers | What's That Bug? on 03 Dec 2010 at 10:27 am

    [...] our readership with a photograph of a pair of Golden Orbweavers, Argiope aurantia.  We have countless images of the gorgeous female spider with her distinctive markings, but this may be the only image of a male of the species [...]

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