''Plebs bradleyi'',
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
''Araneus bradleyi'', 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 ...
in the
orb-weaver family Araneidae.
[ Known as the enamelled spider, it is a common ]Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n spider. It occurs in Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
and Victoria.
Description and habit
The body length of males is 8 to 9 mm and females from 14 to 18 mm. 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. ...
has an enamelled appearance which varies in different parts of the country. In some areas different forms appear side by side. Some are a pure jade colour. The egg sac is round in shape, flat on the bottom where it is fastened down, of red brown silk of a woolly appearance. The eggs are 1 mm in diameter, in a sticky mass.
The enamelled spider hunts in the web at night, and often retreats to surrounding vegetation in the day. Their prey is small flying insects caught in a sloping orb web, around one metre above ground level.
Image:Enamelled Spider - underside.jpg, underside, female
Image:Enamelled Spider (Jade form).jpg, Jade form
Image:Resting in Azalea leaf - Chatswood NSW.jpg, In an ''Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...
'' leaf
References
* Australian Spiders in Colour - Ramon Mascord 1970 SBN 589 07065 7
Araneidae
Spiders of Australia
Spiders described in 1887
{{Araneidae-stub