Spiders of North Carolina

Arachnids of North Carolina

Order:
Scientific Name: Common Name:		Family (Alpha):

Anelosimus studiosus - a cobweb spider Theridiidae Members:			NC Records	BugGuide Account	Public View

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Male

Distribution Records
PDF

Vetting Levels

Adult phenology:
High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
Piedmont (Pd)
Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge

synonym

taxonomic_comments

species_comment

Sub-social, with numerous individuals of varying ages in tangle webs commonly on tips of low branches. These may be common enough to be considered unsightly on ornamental plantings.

id_comments

Colors vary, including brown, tan, red or greenish. Prosoma usually with dark margin and central band, but these may be lacking. Opisthosoma has wavy, central dorsal band having white margins.

total_length

Females 3.2-4.7 mm, males 2.1-2.3 mm

structural_features

silk_web

Small communal tangle webs may coalesce into huge communal sheets, occupied by thousands of individuals.

fld_guide_descriptions

online_photos

prey

predators

Ichneumonid ectoparasitoid, Zatypota crassipes Townes, 1960

behavior

distribution_reference

Bradley, 2013

technical_reference

Eberhard, William G. 2020, Spider Webs - Behavior, Function and Evolution. University of Chicago Press. Chicago, IL.

Kaston, B. J. (1948). Spiders of Connecticut. Bulletin of the Connecticut State Geological and Natural History Survey 70: 1-874.

adult_id

1 identifiable by photo 2 identifiable by photo of specific features and/or supplementary info 3 identifiable from specimen only

abundance

distribution_comments

Considered a "southern spider" by Kaston (1948) who noted a single specimen found in Connecticut, its distribution ranges from southern New England to Florida and west to Texas.

checklist_mt_high
>=4,000 ft.

Regular	Frequent	Infrequent	Occasional	Seldom	Frequency Regular – almost always observed on given visit; >=90% chance of observation Frequent – usually observed on a given visit; >=50%<90% chance of observation Infrequent – observed less than 50% of visits; >=25%<50% chance of observation Occasional – observed on only on a small minority of visits; >=10%<25% chance of observation Seldom – not usually seen on visits; <10% chance of observation These terms refer to visits to appropriate habitats made at appropriate times of the year, making use of common sampling/observation methods. Under those conditions, Frequency refers to the chance of observing at least one individual on a given visit made anywhere within a particular region, or over multiple visits to a single site.

checklist_mt_low
<4,000 ft.

Regular	Frequent	Infrequent	Occasional	Seldom

checklist_pd
Piedmont

Regular	Frequent	Infrequent	Occasional	Seldom

checklist_cp
Coastal Plain

Regular	Frequent	Infrequent	Occasional	Seldom

habitat

old field, yards; shrubs, red cedar trees

observation_methods

state_protection

NHP_ranks

NHP_status

status_comments

Photo Gallery for Anelosimus studiosus a cobweb spider
	Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn Rutherford Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Harnett Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Carteret Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Craven Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Lenoir Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment: Specimen was collected Photo to document spider overwinters in NC.
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Greene Co. Comment: Mixed pine-hardwood forest above Contentnea Creek.	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Pitt Co. Comment: Sandy pine-mixed hardwood forest above Tar River.
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Pitt Co. Comment: Sandy pine-mixed hardwood forest above Tar River.	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wayne Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment: Photo taken on Nov. 25
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment: Beat sheet method, fell from wax myrtle in early successional forest.	Recorded by: Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment: Adult male beaten from Osmanthus
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Mecklenburg Co. Comment: body roughly 3mm	Recorded by: Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment: 2.1mm, solitary juvenile found in small tangle web on tip of Lagerstroemia branch. Ectoparasitoid—prob. Zatypota crassipes Townes, 1960—observed during microscopic examination of living spider spm. Zatypota's feeding killed Spider 12 Sep: It spun cocoon 13 Sep, from which adult emerged 23 Sep '22.
	Recorded by: Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment: 2.1mm, solitary juvenile found in small tangle web on tip of Lagerstroemia branch. Ectoparasitoid—prob. Zatypota crassipes Townes, 1960—observed during microscopic examination of living spider spm. Zatypota's feeding killed Spider 12 Sep: It spun cocoon 13 Sep, from which adult emerged 23 Sep '22.	Recorded by: Donald ZEPP Johnston Co. Comment: In group of bound leaves on low ornamental foundation planting shrub, ca. 1m above ground level. With young--two retained. Ex situ photos.
	Recorded by: Donald ZEPP Johnston Co. Comment: In group of bound leaves on low ornamental foundation planting shrub, ca. 1m above ground level. With young--two retained. Ex situ photos.	Recorded by: Donald ZEPP Johnston Co. Comment: In group of bound leaves on low ornamental foundation planting shrub, ca. 1m above ground level. With young--two retained. Ex situ photos.
	Recorded by: B. McRae Macon Co. Comment:

Photo Gallery for Anelosimus studiosus a cobweb spider