When I got back from Florida, one of my friends asked me what was the coolest spider I found. I quickly answered the "spiny butt spider." She did not look impressed at the name we had given it, so I explained that it had a spiny butt and was cool and had a really circular web! She still did not look very impressed. I decided to do more research and here is what I found out:
The spiders we collected in Florida are from a genus of spider called Gasteracantha or by the common name "spiny orb-weaver" (which is not very different from what we were calling them!). They are smaller than most other orb weaver spiders and can reach sizes of up to about 33mm. The bite of a spiny orb weaver is harmless to humans and they are considered a nuisance only when the build their webs in a heavily populated location. These spiders also generally have a brightly hued abdomen (white, yellow, and orange are common). The most distinguishing feature of the spiny orb weaver are the six spines poking out of its back.
The different colors of the spiny orb weaver
Another colloquial name for the spiny orb weaver is the "crab spider" since its abdomen looks much like the shell of a crab. However, this name is misleading since it is distantly related to the crab spider family Thomisidoe. The orb weaver also spins a distinctive flat, round shaped webs in shrubs and trees.
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Web of a Gasteracantha cancriformis |
The most common species of spiny orb weaver is Gasteracantha cancriformis and this is the species we found in Florida. This species is common in the United States along the southeast coast as well as parts of California.
I now feel very informed about the spiny orb weaver!
Here is a really dramatic (but not well informed) spiny orb weaver video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veXlzQk9bUA
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