Leucauge

Leucauge genus of the long-jawed orb-weaver family has about 167 species as of August 2020, with a pantropical distribution.

Spiders Belonging to this Genus

Leucauge abbajae	Leucauge abyssinica	Leucauge acuminata
Leucauge albomaculata	Leucauge amanica	Leucauge analis
Leucauge annulipedella	Leucauge apicata	Leucauge arbitrariana
Leucauge argentea	Leucauge argenteanigra	Leucauge argentina
Leucauge argyra	Leucauge argyrescens	Leucauge argyroaffinis
Leucauge argyrobapta	Leucauge atrostricta	Leucauge aurocincta
Leucauge auronotum	Leucauge aurostriata	Leucauge badiensis
Leucauge beata	Leucauge bituberculata	Leucauge blanda
Leucauge bontoc	Leucauge branicki	Leucauge brevitibialis
Leucauge cabindae	Leucauge camelina	Leucauge camerunensis
Leucauge capelloi	Leucauge caucaensis	Leucauge caudata
Leucauge celebesiana	Leucauge clarki	Leucauge comorensis
Leucauge conifera	Leucauge cordivittata	Leucauge crucinota
Leucauge curta	Leucauge decorata	Leucauge digna
Leucauge ditissima	Leucauge dorsotuberculata	Leucauge dromedaria
Leucauge emertoni	Leucauge eua	Leucauge fasciiventris
Leucauge festiva	Leucauge fibulata	Leucauge fishoekensis
Leucauge formosa	Leucauge fragilis	Leucauge frequens
Leucauge funebris	Leucauge gemminipunctata	Leucauge granulata
Leucauge hasselti	Leucauge hebridisiana	Leucauge henryi
Leucauge idonea	Leucauge ilatele	Leucauge insularis
Leucauge iraray	Leucauge isabela	Leucauge japonica
Leucauge kibonotensis	Leucauge lamperti	Leucauge lechei
Leucauge lehmannella	Leucauge leprosa	Leucauge levanderi
Leucauge linyphia	Leucauge liui	Leucauge loltuna
Leucauge lombokiana	Leucauge longimana	Leucauge longipes
Leucauge longula	Leucauge macrochoera	Leucauge mahabascapea
Leucauge mahurica	Leucauge malkini	Leucauge mammilla
Leucauge margaritata	Leucauge mariana	Leucauge medjensis
Leucauge mendanai	Leucauge meruensis	Leucauge mesomelas
Leucauge moerens	Leucauge moheliensis	Leucauge nagashimai
Leucauge nanshan	Leucauge nicobarica	Leucauge nigricauda
Leucauge nigrocincta	Leucauge nigrotarsalis	Leucauge obscurella
Leucauge opiparis	Leucauge papuana	Leucauge parangscipinia
Leucauge pinarensis	Leucauge polita	Leucauge popayanensis
Leucauge prodiga	Leucauge profundifoveata	Leucauge pulcherrima
Leucauge pusilla	Leucauge quadrifasciata	Leucauge quadripenicillata
Leucauge regnyi	Leucauge reimoseri	Leucauge roseosignata
Leucauge rubripleura	Leucauge rubrotrivittata	Leucauge ruwenzorensis
Leucauge sabahan	Leucauge saphes	Leucauge scalaris
Leucauge semiventris	Leucauge senegalensis	Leucauge severa
Leucauge signiventris	Leucauge simplex	Leucauge soeensis
Leucauge speciosissima	Leucauge spiculosa	Leucauge splendens
Leucauge stictopyga	Leucauge striatipes	Leucauge subadulta
Leucauge subblanda	Leucauge subgemmea	Leucauge superba
Leucauge synthetica	Leucauge taczanowskii	Leucauge taiwanica
Leucauge talagangiba	Leucauge tanikawai	Leucauge tellervo
Leucauge tengchongensis	Leucauge tessellata	Leucauge tetragnathella
Leucauge thomeensis	Leucauge tredecimguttata	Leucauge tristicta
Leucauge tupaqamaru	Leucauge turbida	Leucauge uberta
Leucauge undulata	Leucauge ungulata	Orchard Orbweaver (Leucauge venusta) Scientific Classification Family: Tetragnathidae Genus: Leucauge
Leucauge vibrabunda	Leucauge virginis	Leucauge viridecolorata
Leucauge volupis	Leucauge wangi	Leucauge wokamara
Leucauge wulingensis	Leucauge xiaoen	Leucauge xiuying
Leucauge zizhong

Physical Description and Identification

Adults

Size: Females spiders are 0.2 – 0.5 inches (0.5 – 1.2 cm) and males are smaller with around 0.1 inches (0.2 cm).

Color: Spiders of the genus are generally bright, coming in colors of orange, silver, green, and brown. However, the females have distinct black, yellow, and silver markings, distinguishing them from their male counterparts.

Other Characteristic Features: On the femur bone of their fourth legs, curved and slender hairs can be seen.

Eggs

300-500 eggs are kept inside an egg sac made with loose orange silk. The sac is usually created near twigs or leaves. The eggs are 0.35 inches (0.01 cm) in size on average.

Spiderlings

After overwintering, spiderlings come out and disperse in the spring season.

The Web

Their web is similar to orbs slanting at a 45° angle. The spider chooses to sit in the middle of the web, facing downwards.

Are Spiders of the Leucauge Genus Venomous

Their bite has a low venom, causing not more than skin irritation to people with allergies.

Quick Facts

Distribution	India, Costa Rica, China, Russia, Japan, Taiwan, New Guinea, and Sulawesi Island of Indonesia
Habitat	Moist places
Diet	Moths, flies, wasps, beetles, mosquitoes
Web Type	Orb-web
Lifespan	Females live around 1 year and males often gets eaten by the female post mating

Did You Know

• Scottish zoologist Adam White documented the genus for the first time in his book ‘Description of New or Little Known Arachnida’.
• In 1832, Charles Darwin took the first specimen of the genus, now known as Leucauge argyrobapta. He was the one who recommended the genus name.
• The name of the genus is originated from the Greek word ‘Leukos’, meaning white.

Image Credits: arachne.org.au