Araneus colima

Interesting Facts

Description

Family Araneidae

Orb weavers comprise a huge family of spiders, of which there are several hundred species in North America. These spiders vary greatly in color, shape and size, measuring between 2 - 30mm (1/16 -- 1 1/4") long. They have eight eyes arranged in two horizontal rows of four eyes each. The males are generally much smaller than the females and commonly lack the showy coloring of their fairer sex. They often spin their own smaller orb web near an outlying portion of the female's, and I've noticed most males give the females wide berth. Indeed, I rarely see male orb weavers, they are so reclusive. [1]

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia () - C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
  - Subkingdom: Bilateria () - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
    - Branch: Protostomia () - Grobben, 1908
      - Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa () - A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998
        Superphylum: Panarthropoda () - Cuvier
        Phylum: Arthropoda () - Latreille, 1829 - Arthropods
        Subphylum: Arachnomorpha () - Heider, 1913
        Infraphylum: Cheliceriformes ()
        Superclass: Chelicerata ()
        Epiclass: Euchelicerata ()
        Class: Arachnida () - Cuvier, 1812 - Arachnids
        Subclass: Micrura ()
        Order: Araneae () - C. Clerck, 1757 - Spiders
        Suborder: Opisthothelae () - Pocock, 1892
        Infraorder: Araneomorphae () - Smith, 1902
        Superfamily: Araneoidea () - C. Clerck, 1757
        Family: Araneidae () - C. Clerck, 1757 - Orb Weavers
        Genus: Araneus () - C. Clerck, 1757
        Specific name: colima - Levi, 1991
        Scientific name: - Araneus colima Levi, 1991