Spiders of North Carolina

Arachnids of North Carolina

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

Leiobunum aldrichi - No Common Name Sclerosomatidae Members:			NC Records	BugGuide Account	Public View

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Distribution Records
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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

Leiobunum longipes

taxonomic_comments

Approximately 30 species in this genus have been identified as occurring in North America north of Mexico (Cokendolpher and Lee, 1993; Ingianni et al., 2011), with 16 recorded in North Carolina. However, the validity of several of these species is suspect, with several that will probably be determined to be synonyms of other species, e.g., davisi, speciosum, and zimmermani in North Carolina Burns et al., 2012; Shultz, 2018). According to Shultz (2018), moreover, recent phylogenetic studies indicate both that more species are waiting to be described and that the name Leiobunum may eventually be restricted to European species, requiring new generic names for most, if not all, of our species.

species_comment

Davis (1934) treated aldrichi and longipes as distinct subspecies of L. longipes. However, Cokendolpher (1984) decided there was too little information to justify separating the two and recommended lumping them as L. aldrichi.

id_comments

A small-bodied Leiobunum. Males are reddish brown (golden-yellow according to Davis, 1934), with or without darker markings; females vary from brown to orange but have a dark central figure on the abdomen as well as segmental bands of light spots (Shultz, 2018). Both sexes have pale pedal coxae that contrast with the dark trochanters. The legs are generally dark brown or blackish but the second legs have a distinctive pale band at the distal end of the tibia. Palps are yellowish and the eye tubercle is black. The undersides are constrastingly whitish.

total_length

3–4 mm, males; 4.5–6 mm, females (Shultz, 2018)

structural_features

The end of the abdomen in males is rounded or subtruncate rather than pointed

silk_web

fld_guide_descriptions

online_photos

BugGuide, The Harvestmen of Maryland

prey

predators

behavior

distribution_reference

Crosby and Bishop (1923)

technical_reference

Weed (1893); Davis (1934); Shultz (2018)

adult_id

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

abundance

We currently have too few records to estimate either its frequency of occurrence or abundance in North Carolina

distribution_comments

Our records so far come from the Mountains to the eastern edge of the Piedmont

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

Shultz (2018) reports that aldrichi is most common in undisturbed forests and can be absent from seemingly suitable but second growth forests.

observation_methods

This species is diurnally active and is found on the surface of the ground or up on tree trunks (Shultz, 2018)

state_protection

Arachnids are not protected under state law, although permits are needed to collect them in State Parks and other public and private nature preserves

NHP_ranks

[GNR] [S3S4]

NHP_status

status_comments

Not enough is yet known about its distribution, habitat associations, abundance, and population trends in North Carolina to accurately assess the conservation needs of this species.

Photo Gallery for Leiobunum aldrichi No common name
	Recorded by: David George and Steve Hall Chatham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment: was resting on a Chestnut Oak; L. vittatum was at the same site.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Madison Co. Comment: was resting on a Chestnut Oak; L. vittatum was at the same site.	Recorded by: Jim Petranka Madison Co. Comment: Adult female
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka Madison Co. Comment: Adult female	Recorded by: Jim Petranka Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka Madison Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Vin Stanton Buncombe Co. Comment: found near moth sheet, not sure of id..
	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: Immatures were common at moth bait	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: Immatures were common at moth bait
	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: Adult female found at moth bait	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Bo Sullivan Ashe Co. Comment: Adult female found at moth bait
	Recorded by: Steve Hall Orange Co. Comment:

Photo Gallery for Leiobunum aldrichi No common name