Spiders of North Carolina

Arachnids of North Carolina

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

Libitioides sayi - Say's Armored Harvestman Cosmetidae 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

Vonones sayi

taxonomic_comments

Libiotodes sayi is one of two species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Kury, 2003), both of which occur in North Carolina.

species_comment

Brimley (1938) referred to specimens collected in North Carolina as Libitiodes ornata, reflecting past confusion as to which names (ornata or sayi) applied to the species found widely in the East and Midwest(see discussion in Kury, 2003). While L. sayi is the species that occurs widely across the state, we now have new records for Libitiodes ornatus, which was previously thought to be restricted to the Gulf Coast and Florida.

id_comments

A moderately small Armored Harvestman, with a flattened body and somewhat bowed legs, particularly the posterior pair. The body color is fuscous to ferruginous brown. Narrow yellow or whitish lines are variably present, with a Y-shaped mark located on the cephalothorax behind the eye eminence, and a transverse line located at the rear margin of the abdominal scutum (Weed, 1893). Additional transerse line segments may occur between the pair of tubercles on the scutum of the abdomen (form albolineata, as described by Weed, who considered it to be a separate species). Size, color, and pattern appear to be very similar to those of L. ornatus, but differs in having the posterior transverse line running fairly straight across the rear of the scutum rather than forming two curved lines that loop around the bases of posterior tubercles.

total_length

6 mm (Weed, 1893)

structural_features

The two pairs of tubercles on the abdomen are low and inconspicuous in L. sayi, whereas the posterior pair are prominent in L. ornata, and about four to five times larger than the anterior pair (Weed, 1893; see also Banks, 1893, and Cokendolpher and Jones, 1991).

silk_web

fld_guide_descriptions

online_photos

prey

predators

behavior

distribution_reference

Brimley (1938)

technical_reference

Weed (1893)

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

This species will probably be found across the Piedmont and Coastal Plain. Its presence in the mountains needs to be investigated.

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

Found under logs and rocks on the ground and under the bark of standing snags. In the Piedmont, observations come primarily from wet to mesic hardwood forests.

observation_methods

This species may be found mainly in the spring and fall by searching under logs and boards.

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] S3S5

NHP_status

status_comments

This species appears to be associated with mesic forests. More information needs to be obtained about its overall distribution, population sizes, and habitat associations before its conservation status can be accurately determined.

Photo Gallery for Libitioides sayi Say's Armored Harvestman
	Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn Chatham Co. Comment: White Pines Survey	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Lenoir Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Erich Hofmann and Kayla Weinfurther Columbus Co. Comment: Found under cover, old boards	Recorded by: Carla Hester Forsyth Co. Comment: Found in a termite station, below ground
	Recorded by: Nathan Vaughan Granville Co. Comment: under metal tub	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Dee Stuckey Orange Co. Comment: Wintering congregation found under a board
	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Dee Stuckey Orange Co. Comment: Wintering congregation found under a board	Recorded by: Amanda Odegard Onslow Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Erich Hofmann and Kayla Weinfurther Columbus Co. Comment: Found along Dam Trail, ca. 1 mi from parking lot	Recorded by: Erich Hofmann and Kayla Weinfurther Columbus Co. Comment: Found under debris on Dam Trail, wet area with mixed pine/hardwood and cypress swamps nearby
	Recorded by: Carol Tingley Durham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Nathan Vaughan Person Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Elizabeth Doran Washburn Wake Co. Comment: Found 2 but only caught 1 on photo, the other crawled away. They were underneath shells we have laying in the dirt in our yard as decoration	Recorded by: Erich Hofmann Craven Co. Comment: Found under pine bark in Croatan National Forest; pine stand had been burned a few months prior.
	Recorded by: FKW, SBW Camden Co. Comment: DISW - Near East Bank Control House	Recorded by: Steve Hall Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall Orange Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Steve Hall Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall Orange Co. Comment:

Photo Gallery for Libitioides sayi Say's Armored Harvestman