Mecynogea lemniscata
(Basilica Orb-weaver)

Comments & ID Thoughts

Photo 3 Neriene radiata? This is an odd angle. This was a very acrobatic spider! Photo was taken at dusk. The egg sacks or stabilimentum (any decorative element in a web) are hard, solid, and dry. I took some apart, they seemed to be solid balls of silk and were hard to pull apart. The spiders curl their bodies around the exterior of the spheres. The spiders' bodies are mostly white. I think the sacs are just a place for the spiders to hide that is connected by silk to the larger web.

• Submitted by: 
  
  tangledweb
• Submitted: Nov 23, 2019
• Photographed: Jul 28, 2019
• Spider: Mecynogea lemniscata (Basilica Orb-weaver)
• Location: Lakewood , South Carolina, United States
• Spotted Outdoors: High foliage (includes trees and tree trunks)
• Found in web?: Yes
• Attributes: Dorsal, Egg sacs, Webs