Subject: Mating Dance of Orchard Spiders
Location: Near the Maury River in Glasgow, Virginia, Rockbridge County.
September 3, 2012 9:06 am
Hello,
I took these shots this past summer in a field near Glasgow, Virginia.
I have ID’ed them as stated above.
I saw the female (greenish color) cast off her old exoskeleton earlier that morning.
I spent the better part of several hours watching them go about the business of mating, and took many photographs.
Signature: Georgepat
Hi Georgepat,
Orchard Spiders, Leucauge venusta, are harmless and beautiful spiders. Your series of photos documenting the courtship process are quite nice and a wonderful addition to our Bug Love archives. It should be noted that the coloration is not a clear indication of sex in the Orchard Spider. The male has the more prominent pedipalps, a pair of extremities that are positioned close to the mandibles, slightly in front of the first pair of true legs. More information on the Orchard Spider is available on BugGuide.
