Leucauge

This is a genus of around 165 spider species. The research about the genus is still being carried on. Well known members of the genus are black-striped orchard spiders and orchard orb-weavers.

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)
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 in (0.5-1.2 cm) and males are smaller with around 0.1 in (0.2 cm). Many species are still not examined, so their size might vary.

Color: Spiders of the genus are generally colorful. Orange, shiny silver, green, brown are natural shades. Female spiders have patterns with yellow, black, and silver colors.

Other Characteristic Features: Their fourth legs exhibit curved and slender hairs on the femurs.

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 average 0.35 in (0.01 cm) size-wise.

Spiderlings

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

The Web

Their web is similar to orbs with a slanting at 45°. The spider chooses to sit in the middle of the web, with its face towards the downside.

Are Spiders of Leucauge Genus Venomous

The spiders are not venomous enough for people, but their bite may cause skin irritation.

Quick Facts

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

Did You Know

• 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.
• In the book named, Description of New or Little Known Arachnida, written by zoologist Adam White, the genus was documented for the first time.
• The name of the genus is originated from the Greek word “Leukos,” meaning white.

Image Credits: arachne.org.au