Araneus trifolium (Hentz, 1847)
shamrock orbweaver
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FAMILY: ARANEIDAE Simon, 1895 Genus: Araneus Clerck, 1757 Species: Araneus trifolium (Hentz, 1847)  |
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Author: Shorthouse, David P.  Page views: 6,497 Write a Review:  Visitor Comments:  (5)
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General Comments: Females are among the largest spiders of the Genus in Canada.
Common Names
Family Common Name:
orbweavers
Genus Common Name:
angulate & roundshouldered orbweavers
Species Common Name:
shamrock orbweaver
Point Collections & Seasonality
Global Distribution: USA, Canada, Alaska
Nearctic States & Provinces: 
AB BC MB NB NL NT NS ON QC SK YT AK CO CT MT NH PA WA WV
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Seasonality
Specimen Search
Specimen list |
, 224
Natural History & Image(s)
Feeding Guild:† orb weavers
†Feeding guild when noted defined by Uetz, G. W., J. Halaj, and A. B. Cady. 1999. Guild structure of spiders in major crops. Journal of Arachnology 27:270-280. PDF
Habitat (published): Individuals build large orb webs in shrubs and in tall herbs such as goldenrod.
Habitat (<30 randomly chosen specimens): In greenhouse; Blueberry field; Salix in St-Laurent floodplain; Black current bushes; Grass and weeds near wood edge; Low bush in Black spruce forest; In bathroom; Meadow; Apple foliage; Fraisier; In shrubs by house; Bog; Tall grass in meadow; Garden; 5400'; Climbing on grass in yard; On ground; Riparian area - old oxbow. Rosa woodsii mix vegetation; Web in woods; On weeds at edge of bog; Kalmia on upland site; Schrubs and grass; Hypericum perforatum; Schrubs; In garden; Black spruce bog; 2050'; Solidago field; Weeds; Wet woods;
Life & Natural History: The web has about 20 radii and there is a silk-lined retreat among leaves and a signal thread. Maturity is from August to October and egg sacs may contain upwards of 2,600 eggs.
Image(s) of Habitus:
Details About Males
Description: Carapace white to brown, legs brown with indistinct darker rings, abdomen off-white.
Male Dimensions:
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Image of External Male Genitalia: email an image |
Details About Females
Description: Carapace off-white with dark median longitudinal stripe and with dark marginal stripes. Legs are white to yellow with dark annulations. Abdomen off-white, reddish or purplish, sometimes greenish. Colored specimens usually with paired and unpaired angular white spots. Venter dark, usually unmarked.
Female Dimensions:
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Image of Epigynum: email an image |
Descriptions Source:
Dondale, C. D., J. H. Redner, P. Paquin & H. W. Levi. 2003. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 23. The orb-weaving spiders of Canada and Alaska (Araneae: Uloboridae, Tetragnathidae, Araneidae, Theridiosomatidae). NRC Research Press, Ottawa, 371 pp.
Synonyms and Chresonyms‡
Taxonomic References‡
Archer, A. F. 1940. The Argiopidae or orb-weaving spiders of Alabama. Mus. Pap. geol. Surv. Ala 14: 1-77.
Chamberlin, R. V. 1919. New Californian spiders. Jour. Ent. Zool. Claremont 12: 1-17.
Chamberlin, R. V. & W. Ivie. 1944. Spiders of the Georgia region of North America. Bull. Univ. Utah 35(9): 1-267.
Comstock, J. H. 1940. The spider book, revised and edited by W. J. Gertsch. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, xi + 727 pp.
Dondale, C. D., J. H. Redner, P. Paquin & H. W. Levi. 2003. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 23. The orb-weaving spiders of Canada and Alaska (Araneae: Uloboridae, Tetragnathidae, Araneidae, Theridiosomatidae). NRC Research Press, Ottawa, 371 pp.
Emerton, J. H. 1902. The common spiders of the United States. Boston, pp. 1-225.
Emerton, J. H. 1884. New England spiders of the family Epeiridae. Trans. Conn. Acad. Arts Sci. 6: 295-342.
Hentz, N. M. 1847. Descriptions and figures of the araneides of the United States. Boston J. nat. Hist. 5: 443-478.
Kaston, B. J. 1948. Spiders of Connecticut. Bull. Conn. St. geol. nat. Hist. Surv. 70: 1-874.
Levi, H. W. 1971. The diadematus group of the orb-weaver genus Araneus north of Mexico (Araneae: Araneidae). Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv. 141: 131-179.
McCook, H. C. 1894. American spiders and their spinningwork. Philadelphia, 3: 1-285.
Paquin, P. & N. Dupérré. 2003. Guide d'identification des araignées de Québec. Fabreries, Suppl. 11 1-251.
Petrunkevitch, A. 1911. A synonymic index-catalogue of spiders of North, Central and South America with all adjacent islands, Greeland, Bermuda, West Indies, Terra del Fuego, Galapagos, etc. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 29: 1-791. 
Simon, E. 1903. Liste des arachnides recueillis par M. Schmitt dans l'île Anticosti. Bull. Mus. hist. nat. Paris 9: 386-387.
Walckenaer, C. A. 1842. Histoire naturelle des Insects. Aptères. Paris, 2: 1-549.
Yaginuma, T. 1957. Spiders from Hokkaido and Rishiri Island. Acta arachn. Tokyo 14: 51-61.
‡Nomenclature and taxonomic references from the World Spider Catalog
Natural History References
Dondale, C. D., J. H. Redner, P. Paquin & H. W. Levi. 2003. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 23. The orb-weaving spiders of Canada and Alaska (Araneae: Uloboridae, Tetragnathidae, Araneidae, Theridiosomatidae). NRC Research Press, Ottawa, 371 pp.
Latest Literature from uBio: 
Page Reference
Shorthouse, David P. submitted. Taxonomic and natural history description of FAM: ARANEIDAE, Araneus trifolium (Hentz, 1847). In: The Nearctic Spider Database. David P. Shorthouse (editor). World Wide Web electronic publication. Direct link: http://www.canadianarachnology.org/data/spiders/15257 (Accessed: 7/4/2009 10:56:38 PM).
Text Last Modified: 2005-08-07T18:57:22Z
