Arachnids of North Carolina
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View ARANEIDAE Members: NC Records

Acanthepeira venusta Banks, 1896 - an orbweaver

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Taxonomy
Order: ARANEAEInfraorder: ARANEOMORPHAEFamily: ARANEIDAE                                                                                 
Identification
Online Description/Photos: BugGuide Google, iNaturalist, Wikipedia, GBIF
Comments: Similar coloration to A. stellata. Females (6-10 mm) Can be distinguished by smaller size, narrow abdomen & lighter less contrasting pattern. This is the only species that might have ventral white marks. It might have a white transverse mark or two white spots behind the genital groove. Males (5-7.5 mm) have 4th coxa without tubercle. The males of A. venusta can be separated from A. stellata by the narrower abdomen with the terminal tubercle turned upward, the much narrower ventral apophysis on the tibia of the palpus and the paracymbium. The females can be separated from A. stellata by the narrower abdomen and the epigynum
Total Length: Smaller than A. stellata. Female. Length, 6.0 mm., ceph. 3.0 ram. long, 2.2 mm. wide, abd. 4.2 ram. long without the anterior and posterior tubercles, 4.0 mm. wide. ale. Length, 6.2 mm., ceph. 4.0 mm. long, 3.4 ram. wide, abd. 3.0 ram. long, 2.9 ram. wide.
Distribution in North Carolina
Comments: Virginia to Florida
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Acanthepeira venusta
Adult phenology:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Fields, roadsides, grasses, grassy cypress, swamps, sawgrass and floating island vegetation
Observation Methods:
Abundance/Frequency: all year
Status in North Carolina
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