''Araniella cucurbitina'', sometimes called the "cucumber green spider", is a

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Araneidae Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...

Taxonomy

The species was first described by the Swedish entomologist and arachnologist Carl Alexander Clerck (1709-1765) in 1757 as ''Araneus cucurbitinus'' and was revised in 1942 by Chamberlin & Ivie with the name ''Araniella cucurbitina''.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Palaearctic. It is widespread in north-western and central Europe, in Turkey, and in Central Asia to China and Korea. It can also be found in parts of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, where it was probably introduced.

Habitat

These spiders are mainly found on forest clearings, in woods, bushes, scrub and hedgerows and in low vegetation. Spider and Harvestman Recording Scheme website
/ref>

Description

Females of ''Araniella cucurbitina'' are larger than males. Moreover the male is generally much slimmer, with more developed limbs (

Sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

). In fact females grow up to , while males only up to . Nentwig, Blick, Gloor, Hänggi & Kropf, 201
Spiders of Europe.
/ref> Adult spiders in Spring show a basic green color. The cephalothorax (

prosoma The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

) is light yellowish to red-brown, but the abdomen (

opisthosoma The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma (cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects to a ...

) is definitely green or yellowish green, with four pairs of black lateral spots. The legs are yellowish green or yellow-red-brown. On the lower end of the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

there is a red mark. At the extremities of the pedipalps, males have the copulatory organs, called

palpal bulb The two palpal bulbs – also known as palpal organs and genital bulbs – are the copulatory organs of a male spider. They are borne on the last segment of the pedipalps (the front "limbs" of a spider), giving the spider an appearance often descr ...

s, similar to an ampoule, that are used to transfer sperm to the female. Freshly hatched spiderlings are red, and change to brown before the autumn. '' Araniella opisthographa'' is an almost identical spider which can only be distinguished from ''A. cucurbitina'' by a microscopic investigation.

Biology

Adults can be found mainly from May to July, but females last as late as September. These spiders do not use a hideout, because they are

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...

d by their green colour. They weave their orb-web between leaves and flowers. These webs are irregularly shaped and only about in diameter. They have between 15 and 30 rays. The spider usually stands in the middle of the web while waiting for prey. Egg sacs are commonly attached to the underside of leaves. Concise Garden Wildlife Guide

Gallery

File:Araniella.cucurbitina.spiderling.jpg, Spiderling File:Araniella.cucurbitina.web.jpg, Web File:Araneidae - Araniella cucurbitina-2 (8304383258).jpg, With prey File:Araniella cucurbitina Foci dell'Avisio 02.jpg, On a leaf

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1545036 Araniella Spiders of Europe Spiders of Asia Spiders described in 1757 Taxa named by Carl Alexander Clerck Palearctic spiders