Lattice Orb Weaver – Araneus thaddeus
This is a male specimen. size = 8mm. Male orb weavers are generally much smaller than females, and their behavior makes them a much rarer sight – although with this species, I never have seen a female.
The common name for this species refers to their lattice-like web retreat usually constructed inside a folded-over leaf.
Species epithet Thaddeus after Dr. Thaddeus Wm. Harris, a noted American naturalist and entomologist.
Harris was a great friend and collaborator of Nicholas Hentz (1797-1856), a French-born entomologist, engraver, and miniature painter, who spoke several languages and studied medicine in Paris and at Harvard.
Hentz’s posthumous Spiders of the United States, a collection of scholarly articles, paintings, and drawings on the subject, remains a standard in the field of arachnology. Hentz named this species in Harris’s honor.
Hentz wrote of the signature lattice-like retreat of this spider, “Its dwelling place is really beautiful; it is placed above its web, and made of the finest white silk, shining with a satin lustre; its shape is that of an inverted thimble, and it is usually placed under a leaf bent together for the purpose of affording shelter and security.”
I hope some day to run across a female of the species, and view its web with my own eyes. I’ll keep looking!
References
1. Bugguide.net, Lattice Orb Weaver
2. Bugguide.net, species page Araneus thaddeus
Orb Weavers
Spiders Index | Spiders Main
Tree Encyclopedia / North American Insects & Spiders
Online since 2002
