Login
Register
Comments & ID Thoughts
Gasteracantha cancriformis, aka Spiny-backed Orb-Weaver sighting! I had no idea what type of spider this was...not your typical garden spider often seen here in Virginia Beach. A quick Google search and I learned so much about this rarely seen spider! From my observation and research, this is a female. There were tiny little tufts of silk sporadically placed throughout the web. You can see some of them in my pictures. I am hoping she sticks around long enough for a mate to show up...I would love to get a look at her egg sac should she produce one. I'll keep everyone updated!
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Jan 8, 2019
- Photographed: Jan 8, 2019
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: Low foliage (shrubs, herbs, garden, excluding flowers)
- Found in web?: Yes
- Attributes:
Some orbweavers reproduce twice a year, I don’t know if she’s one of them. The males are tiny and don’t stick around any longer than they have to to mate. They’ll usually start by sitting at the edge of the female’s web. The Gasteracantha genus has really tightly woven webs compared to most local orbweavers. Perhaps their niche is to catch the smaller flying insects. Thank you for sharing her and her web.