#Long-Jawed Orb Weaver

[helluvatimes]

Pest Control Duty

A long-jawed orb weaver doing pest control duty in the Gardens by the Bay. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

This orb weaver apparently feeds on lacewings, millipedes, centipedes, mites and stoneflies beside others and thus makes for a good pest control technician.

The shot was taken over dark waters with the exposure biased 2-2/3 stops darker so that the spider won’t come out washed-out.

[jupiterswasphouse]

[PHOTOS TAKEN: MAY 26TH, 2024 | Image IDs: Four photos of a black, green, and orange long-jawed orb weaver in its web /End IDs.]

[unkn0wnvariable]

Long-jawed Orb Weaver

A long-jawed orb weaver spider having a meal in the corner of its web, at RSPB Fowlmere.

[arachnophanatic]

Long-jawed orb-weaver (Tetragnathidae family)

Species Tetragnatha extensa

[herpsandbirds]

Red-and-blue Long-jawed Orb-weaver (Leucauge sarawakensis), family Tetragnathidae, Sarawak, Borneo

photograph by cclborneo

[wrenn0002]

A long jawed orb weaver that’s at my workplace for the past couple weeks. 💖🕷️🕸️

[onenicebugperday]

@elviratheepic submitted: Here's a little guy I found while doing laundry today! It picked a great spot to sit - the orange against the blue is so pretty. I'm not much of a bug identifier, but I assume it's a male orb weaver of some sort. If you could tell specifics from my less than perfect photos that'd be cool (found in south [removed]), but if not, let's just admire this little orange guy together :)

Please remove my location, thanks!

That blue really makes their color pop! Pretty. Looks to me like a Eurasian armoured long-jawed spider, Metellina segmentata. So an orbweaver, yes, but a long-jawed one in the family Tetragnathidae rather than the standard orbweavers in Araneidae :)

[rebeccathenaturalist]

How to Identify Cross Orbweaver Spiders

Originally posted on my website at https://rebeccalexa.com/how-to-identify-cross-orbweaver-spiders/. Click here to learn more about the How to Identify article series.

Name: Cross orbweaver spider (Araneus diadematus), also known as cross spider, European garden spider, et. al.

Range and typical habitat(s): Native to much of Europe, sporadically found in temperate areas of Asia, introduced to North America, particularly the west coast and northeast United States.

Distinguishing physical characteristics (size, colors, overall shapes, detail shapes) and behaviors: Fall is just around the corner, and if you’re looking for more eco-friendly seasonal decorations, the cross orbweaver is the perfect fit! While these spiders have spent all summer chowing down on insects, by September they’ve gotten big enough to be quite visible on their large orb webs.

A mature female cross orbweaver spider.

Both sexes are a variable combination of orange, yellow, brown, and/or gray, and they all have white cross-shaped markings on the dorsal (upper) side of their rather large, oval-shaped abdomens. The legs are tan to orange with darker brown or gray stripes. Like many other web-weaving spiders, cross orbweavers tend to rest in the center of their web with their head facing down and their legs flexed rather than straight, though the fourth pair in the back may sometimes be extended somewhat. Their legs are covered in fine hairs with a fuzzy appearance. They are also known to perch on nearby leaves and twigs.

Like other members of the family Araneidae, the orb-weavers, these spiders have four pairs of eyes. Females are larger than males, reaching up to 1″ long in exceptional individuals, while males usually top out at 1/2″ or less. A close examination shows that males can also be distinguished by large pedipalps with swollen ends. These are little appendages nestled between the chelicerae (jaws) and the first pair of legs. Males use the pedipalps in mating displays, and to also pass sperm to the female. A courting male needs to be careful, as females will engage in cannibalism.

A male cross orbweaver (right) carefully approaches a female (left) with the intent to mate.

The eggs laid by females the previous fall hatch in spring, releasing several dozen (or more!) tiny yellow spiderlings into the world. While they make webs as soon as they find a good location, these young spiders often end up as prey for other animals themselves. Cross orbweavers generally live no more than a year, though females die shortly after laying their eggs, and males are often eaten by their mates.

The web is made of a series of overlapping threads of silk like the spokes in a wheel, with a spiraling orb starting at the center and working its way outward. A cross orbweaver’s web may be quite large, and the central orb may at times exceed two feet in diameter. They are not picky about where they set up shop, and are often found near homes and other buildings, where they are quite adept at catching flying insects that blunder into the web. If threatened, these spiders shake their web vigorously, and are not prone to bite unless handled roughly. They may dry bite in self-defense, choosing not to use venom. Their venom is not considered dangerous to humans.

Other organisms it could be confused with and how to tell the difference: There are several other Araneus species that look quite similar to the cross orbweaver. Of these, the most similar is the four-spot orbweaver (Araneus quadratus) has less variegated orange, green, or brown abdomen with four small white spots on it rather than a cross, though they have similarly striped legs. It is found only in Europe.

Araneus quadratus

The cat-faced spider (Araneus gemmoides), also known as the jewel orbweaver, is of similar size and color variation to the cross orbweaver. However, its abdomen has two pronounced points on top that look rather like a cat’s ears. Araneus gemma (not pictured) is also sometimes called the cat-faced spider or the gem-shaped spider, and it has a similarly shaped abdomen but tends to be paler in color. Both of these species are primarily found in the western half of temperate North America.

Araneus gemmoides. By Trucmuche04, CCA-SA-3.0

Anything else worth mentioning? Because the cross orbweaver is not native to North America, it competes with native spiders for food. This is especially concerning as insect populations have plummeted in recent decades due to pesticide use and habitat loss. It is often found in urban areas and other places with lots of human habitation, and is considered an invasive species in the Bay Area. They are considered harmless to humans.

Further Reading:

Cross Orbweaver Spider

Cross Orbweaver

Cross Orbweaver (Araneus diadematus)

Spiderspotter: Cross Orbweaver

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[cnestus]

long-jawed orb weaver (Tetragnathidae)

[mothman-clarice]

OH MY GOD I got another hc for you, this time it's more hannibal focused :D

Quick warning, I will be talking about spiders a lot in this but I wont show any pictures, just so you know :)

Idk why but I think hed be a big fan of bugs, specifically spiders

Even more specifically, hed like tarantulas and orb weavers the most

Hed have a small collection of pets, 3 tarantulas and one golden orb weaver.

His number one favorite is a female cobalt blue tarantula he named sappho

Why name a spider after a lesbian icon? Because any attempt to breed her would just end up in her eating all of the males no matter what. She would refuse to breed no matter how perfect the male was. He joked that shes a lesbian and thus named her Sappho

Despite cobalt blues being very skittish, sappho actually is very comfortable with hannibal and likes it when he handles her.

She likes sitting on his shoulder while he reads or plays the piano

He loves spending time with her since it's so incredibly unusual for a spider to be this affectionate and comfortable

Not to mention shes just jaw droppingly gorgeous

Clarice doesnt mind his spiders and shows some curiosity for them, though shes still pretty spooked by them

Hannibal has tried to get her to fight her fear by letting her try feeding his spiders

She would hold a hissing cockroach in some long tongs and hold it up to his martinique pink toe tarantula named Coral

Her hands shook a lot but she tried to stay steady. Hannibal would encourage her and hold her hand.

Coral pounces on the roach making clarice jump with a yelp but she managed to hold steady enough that she didnt disturb Coral

She released the tongs and stumbles back, eyes popping out of her skull

H: Easy easy! You did it!

He catches her and holds her tight as she waits for her pulse to return to a slightly safer speed

She laughs after a few seconds at her dramatic reaction and hugs hannibal from the side to which he happily reciprocates

After a moment of laughter hannibal goes over to check on coral

Shes sitting at the entrance to her burrow, happily slurping away at the now dead cockroach

He smiles and closes her enclosure

H: you did quite well. Shes very happy with her meal.

C: oh I'm glad, I slaved away at it with my blood sweat and tears. (She laughs)

[helluvatimes]

Life is but a Weaving

A Long-jawed Orb Weaver weaving for a living in the Gardens by the Bay. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua. 

This was taken with a consumer telephoto zoom that produced excellent resolution in the centre of the optics. So the spider was here placed in the centre of the frame and the image was then cropped to compose in post. This was a 40 percent crop of the original capture.

[jupiterswasphouse]

[PHOTO TAKEN: JUNE 24TH, 2024 | Image IDs: Two photos of a green, white, black, and yellow orchard orb weaver in its web /End IDs.]

[unkn0wnvariable]

Long-jawed Orb Weaver

A long-jawed orb weaver spider lurking on a nettle leaf at the edge of its web, at Titchmarsh nature reserve.

[theflyingseabug]

Behold, the Long Jawed OwO Weaver

I saw a Long-Jawed Orb Weaver, and it had an OwO on its face. So, I drew it having an actual OwO on its face. It's got 2 mouths now.

[herpsandbirds]

A spider that’s been hanging out by my backdoor! My mom says that they’re a banana spider, and I think the tiny spider above the big one is a male. If true, I suspect that we’ll be seeing babies eventually. North Florida for ID purposes!

Spider ID - FL, USA:

Yes, Banana Spider or Golden Orb-Weaver (Trichonephila clavipes), family Nephilidae. Also, yes, the small one is a male and the large one is a female.

Formerly known by the scientific name, Nephila clapvipes.

Once considered to be, by some arachnologists, to be in the long-jawed orbweaver family Tetragnathidae.

Currently, some scientists either consider this spider to be in the family Nephildae, and other consider that family to actually be a subfamily of the orbweavers, Araneidae.

[wrenn0002]

Photo dumb from the past week

The tabby is my kitty

The tuxedo kitty is cat at work

A long jawed orb weaver spider

And a furrow orb weaver