Marble Orchard Spider Wasp

Hymenoptera latin for membrane wing is a vast assemblage of insects second only to coleoptera beetles in the number of described species hymenoptera number some 115 000 species of which 18 000 live in north america.

Marble orchard spider wasp.

They are named so because of their large size and a color pattern closely similar to that of a bird s dropping. About a year like most orbweaver spider species distribution. Large spiders wasps and many other large sized flying insects small animals and birds diet. Sphecid wasps ammophila sp order hymenoptera ants bees wasps and sawflies family sphecidaelive adult male and female wasps photographed at dupage county illinois.

They are some of the most common spiders found in the american midwest. Orchard spider venusta orchard spider. About 1 300 species of this generally very small creature 1 8 mm are known worldwide with about 360 species of 36 different genera in europe and some 800. Bees wasps index bees wasps main aculeata bees ants and stinging wasps i found these male and female wasps mating on a hot summer day.

Venusta orchard spider leucauge venusta family tetragnathidae spider indexthe venusta orchard spider is one of a handful of orb weavers that spin their webs near the horizontal plane. Parts of southern canada to central america habitat. Hymenopterans inhabit a wide variety of habitats and show an incredible diversity in size behavior structure and color. Orb can in english mean circular hence the english name of the group.

The family is cosmopolitan including many well known large. Gall wasps also called gallflies are a family cynipidae in the wasp superfamily cynipoidea within the suborder apocrita of the order hymenoptera their common name comes from the galls they induce on plants for larval development. Some wasp species including spider wasps batozonellus lacerticida and blue mud daubers chalybion californicum catch and paralyze marbled orb weavers. The paralyzed spiders are placed in a burrow with a wasp egg and when the egg hatches and the larvae feed on the available spider prey.

Apart from these there are other species too like those of the mastophora genus that also bear a resemblance to bird droppings. Bird dropping spiders indigenous to australia belong to the orb weaver family. We closely monitor the content on our site and our editorial staff posts all selected identification requests. Woodlands low shrubby areas and small trees common predators.

I saw it examining the bench and seemingly walking all round it one day and the following day i took a quick video as it was bringing small material into a hole in the wood. Hi kathy your spider is definitely one of the orchard spiders in the genus leucauge and we believe it is leucauge venusta even though there is more magenta in the spider s body than we generally see. Araneids have eight similar eyes hairy or spiny legs and no stridulating organs. Females almost always sit underneath bottom side up.

Find them in forests and shaded.