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The Jewelled Spider is also known by its
Latin name - Gasteracantha Minax, meaning "threatening and
projecting". They are also known as spiny orb weavers and are part
of the orb weaving spider family. This spider's body is very broad
and grows to the size of a 20c piece, with its 8 legs being the
length of a pin (fairly short for a spider). Its abdomen is
strikingly coloured with bright yellows, orange or reds as well as
white and black. Six stout spines (long and sharp) come from the
border of the abdomen.
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Reply: No its a jewelled spider.
17 November, 2005:
Hi Glen,
I found this spider in central Alabama, after looking around your
sight I'm guessing it's a member of the Micarathena family?
David |
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15 October, 2005:
Hi, I found this spider building a huge web on my pool
screen, can you please tell me what it is? Thank you |
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15 September, 2005:
I was camping with my dad a few years ago, and he almost ran
into this spider. It has a mostly black body, with yellow spots.
After hearing that, it would seem to be one of thousands that fit
the description, but here's where it gets weird. It had a crab-like
body, wider than it is long, and its shell had two spikes on the
front and two on either side. The spider was approximately a
quarter-inch wide. I've attached a picture of this strange spider. I
hope you can tell me what it is. If you don't have a picture of this
type of spider, I have a higher-quality, larger-sized version of the
picture you can use for your website. Thank you.
-Alex Gravlin |
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19 August, 2005:
Hey Glen, Just wanted to say thanks to this site for helping
me identify this Jewelled Spider that has been living in our
backyard for a while. I live in Austin, Texas and this is the second
time I've seen this amazing creature. Attatched are some pictures of
the little guy, as well as one picture of a female that I took a
while back. I'm an aspiring photographer and it really has been a
pleasure to shoot these! Since seeing the female so long ago I was
so incredibly fascinated by it's web and features- I wanted to take
it in so I did for about a week. It certainly is an interesting
spider. Thanks again for just a very great, informative site.
Kind regards,
Missy |
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27 June,
2005:
I have a nice picture of a perhaps Jewel Spider. Could you
confirm that? Thanks.
Ben |
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11 June,
2005:
I found your site several months ago to show my boys
some neat looking spiders and info. Well...now I have my own picture
to send and ask....what the heck is it? I sent a top view and the
underside. It is very small, about 7x10mm with bright red horns.
Kinda looks like a crab. I am in Florida...Clearwater area. When you
get the chance I would love to know some info on this interesting
little creature. |
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13 February, 2005:
hi i was in my backyard and stumbled across this spider and
thought it was the coolest and thanks to your site i figured out
what it was. port saint lucie, fl |
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30
December, 2004:
Glen, I saw this amazing looking spider outside of my
home and had no clue what kind it was but found out on your site
from a google search. I have attatched 3 pictures of it. Let me know
if you post it to your site. Thank you for all the information
you provided. The spider was found at my home in Houston, TX Charles
Tips |
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December, 2004:
First off, love the site! Well attached, please find two
pictures of a Jewelled spider I found my yard in Houston, Texas.
Kinda spooky looking. Also, the second picture shows her from the
side as she was walking on her web. Can you please tell me if
these are poisonous? Thanks, David Gian
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4 December, 2004:
My husband found this spider in a tree in our backyard in
Louisiana. Thought the pics might be good on your site. can you
tell us if this spider is harmful to us or our dog? Thank You,
Shaunna Martin, New Orleans, LA
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8 September, 2004
Hello, I live in Ft.Lauderdale, FL. these pictures were taken
outside my living room window a day after hurricane frances passed
us by. I watched this brave little spider endure high winds and
heavy rain. I got attached to her during these times, I figured as
long as she's still hanging there, me and my family would be too.
Miguel P.
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23 August, 2004
I found your site, which helped me identify this guy as a
"Jewelled Spider". He's living on my apartment balcony here in
Houston, Texas, and I first noticed him not long after I moved in
at the end of May. He's definitely the coolest looking spider I've
ever seen!
Kris
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13
August, 2004
I found this Spider in the Northern Hills of Thailand. I have
asked a friend who is a keen collector who couldn't identify it. I
was wondering if you could help?
Thanks,
Daniel |
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11 August, 2004
Howdy from Austin Texas. Love your website! I noticed that
you called
this critter a "jewelled spider". Here in Texas, where these spiders
live in great profusion, we call'em spinybacked orbweavers
(Gastercantha cancriformis). They come in yellow and red, too. This
one
has been living in my deck umbrella since April. It looks pretty
wild,
but it's only about 1/2" long. |
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July, 2004
I found this spider after a trip into the rain forest near
Tully, Northern Australia. Can you help me identify him
Regards
Gary Lane
Technical Director.
Lane Technical Services Pty Ltd
"Professional Technical Support"
* gary@lanetech.com.au |
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23
January, 2004
Found this one on a broken branch with ball moss. Was weaving
a web to a potted plant about 2-3 feet away.
See attached! Have a few more if you need 'em. This shot is clear,
so you can zoom in a lot. |
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23
January, 2004
Could you please help us to identify this spider see
attachment
Thank you very much
Rie
Clyde |
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25 September, 2003
This was found in Austin, TX
Jack Barcroft |
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1 August, 2003
Like Mr. Falkstein we found (and released) Gasteracanthae in our
back yard! We were excited to locate you website and identify them.
The red one (which we have not seen in any other spider sites) was
about half the size of the white one. They were both found in a
white ash tree about two feet apart. The white one had a well
developed horizontal (like a hammock) web with occasional narrow
patches of dense white web about one by one-eighth inch long every
three inches or so. They both liked to hang upside down at one end
of the web. When releasing the red one, it “played dead” for several
minutes before crawling away.
The Marte family,
Cypress, Texas |
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12 July, 2003:
Attached are pictures of a beautiful spider I found in my back yard.
It seems to be a female "Gasteracantha cancriformis" (or Hasselt's
Spiny Spider Gasteracantha hasseltii).
In all my years in Austin, Texas, I have never before seen a spider
like this one.
Frank Falkstein
Austin, Texas USA |
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12 July, 2003:
Reply: The photos provided by Frank Falkstein (July 12, 2003 (photos show 07/10/2003)), Rich Elsner
(October 28, 2002 and 11/6/2001), Jean Taylor (May 2, 2002), Lisa
McAnelly (no date provided) are female "Gasteracantha cancriformis"
(spinybacked orbweaver). The name, "Gasteracantha elipsoides"
(Walckenaer) 1841 is a synonym for the formal name, "Gasteracantha
cancriformis" (Linnaeus) 1767." The color of the female's dorsum
varies by location. In Florida, the females are usually white with
black spots and
red spines. In other areas of the US where they can be found, the
coloring of the females may vary and includes a yellow dorsum with
black spots and black spines.
Reference:
http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/beneficial/g_cancriformis.htm
"Gasteracantha hasseltii" is a similar species that is found in
Southeast Asia.
Josh Hillman, FloridaNature.org |
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28 October, 2002
Good afternoon Glenda,
Of all your photos (including mine) of the Gasteracantha Elipsoides,
none have a good shot of the underside. While walking the woodlands
today I found this fine spider with her flip-side towards the sun.
Keep up the great work and the great web site. You are doing a great
service for our little eight legged friends.
Rich Elsner,
Citrus County, Florida |
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2 May,
2002:
Interesting site. I'm looking for someone to identify a very
interesting and beautiful spider in my yard. I have a good picture
of it that I could email to someone. My
husband calls it a "Crab Spider". It does look lik a crab. I'd like
to know more about it.
Jean Taylor
Dear Glenda,
This is the spider crab that was in our yard. I hope he returns
soon. I haven't seen "him" for a few days, nor a smaller one like
him either. This one is about 1/4" across.
Jean Taylor |
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6/11/2001
Good evening Glenda, I'm pleased to see my Orb Weaver spider (the
one with the purple star on his back) on your great web site. This
morning one of my Florida neighbors called to say that he had an
unusual spider on his pool cage screen. I collected the little guy
and he now resides in my pool enclosure. He's doing really well and
has constructed a new web about 24 by 24 inches.
I'm attaching a macro photo that I made while he was still on the
screen. Use the photo if you like. Thanks for the great site and
wonderful photographs.
Rich Elsner
Beverly Hills, FL
rgelsner@tampabay.rr.com |
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Here's an answer for Arya:
Dear Glen
I visited your web site. It was quite informative. The photograph sent
by Arya A. Sadhana Journalist, the
Otosport Weekly, is Gasterocantha geminata, Gasterocanthinae
Dr. M. Ganesh Kumar, Thanks a lot Dr. Kumar |
31/05/01 - Dear Glen,
I found your website by generating a search thru a search engine.
Amongst all websites about sipders, I think yours is more informative
and interactive one. That's why I write you an email.
I'm a motor sport journalist in Indonesia. Last week, as I was covering
an adventure off-road event thru the Gunung Halimun National Park, I
spotted a strange looking little fella. Her web was hanging from a bush
to a road sign this road sign was placed to alert the off-roaders from
falling off the cliff right underneath the web). About 1 meter above the
ground. Since that road sign was place a day before, the web is still
fresh.
I wasn't so sure that she was a spider at first. But when I had a closer
look thru my camera lens, I'm pretty sure that she was one. What
attracted me the most was her extraordinary body shape. I thought it was
an insect got caught in the web. Although I have a great concern about
wildlife, I have never seen any spiders like this before. The
temperature on spot where she was found was between 27 - 32 degree
Celsius, in the heart of the National Park. It was pretty damp and
humid, since Gunung Halimun (Mount Halimun) is eternally covered with
fog (Halimun, in Sundanese language means fog). This little baby moves
very fast. And by the time I wanted to took another pic of her, she
already disappear. Please find them pictures attached. I'm also sending
you several pics of her in separated emails so you can open it up
easily. Unfortunately I didn't have my macro lenses with me, so I
couldn't get a closer result. Not to mention that the pic of her
underneath is kinda shaky (it's pretty hard to kneel down under a spider
web - using a normal 28 mm lens - only about few inches before a 15
metres cliff).
I'm wondering if you, or anybody can help me identify this little poor
baby. I'm afraid that she's might be an endangered species. Please
inform me via email, since I travel a lot and don't really have the time
to check out
websites. I appreciate your great help and attention.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
All the Best,
Arya A. Sadhana,
Journalist, the Otosport Weekly
Could be
a jewelled spider, any ideas on this one? |
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