The Nearctic Spider Database, http://www.canadianarachnology.org/data/spiders/15257

Araneus trifolium (Hentz, 1847)
shamrock orbweaver

FAMILY: ARANEIDAE Simon, 1895
    Genus: Araneus Clerck, 1757
        Species: Araneus trifolium (Hentz, 1847)

Author of this page: Shorthouse, David P. (Page complete and awaiting review)

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

Distribution

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
Collection Locales Mapped by Year Collected: 

Natural History, Phenology & 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.
Recorded Habitats:  Individuals build large orb webs in shrubs and in tall herbs such as goldenrod.
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.

Seasonality of Specimen Records:


Image(s) of Habitus:


Credit: Buckle, Don

Details About Males

Description:  Carapace white to brown, legs brown with indistinct darker rings, abdomen off-white.

Male Dimensions:

A+B = 5.31 mm  A = 3 mm  C = 2.36 mm 

Image of External Male Genitalia:  (image not yet available)

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:

A+B = 10.61 mm  A = 4.66 mm  C = 4.06 mm 

Image of Epigynum:  (image not yet available)

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†

Epeira jaspidata Walckenaer 1842
Araneus trifolium Hentz 1847
Epeira aureola Hentz 1847
Epeira septima Hentz 1847
Epeira trifolium Hentz 1847
Epeira trifolium Emerton 1884
Epeira trifolium McCook 1894
Epeira trifolium candicans McCook 1894
Epeira trifolium Emerton 1902
Araneus trifolium Simon 1903
Araneus septimus Petrunkevitch 1911
Araneus trifolium candidans Petrunkevitch 1911
Aranea gosogana Chamberlin 1919
Araneus trifolium Archer 1940
Araneus trifolium Comstock 1940
Aranea trifolium Chamberlin & Ivie 1944
Epeira trifolium Kaston 1948
Araneus jaspidatus Yaginuma 1957
Araneus trifolium Levi 1971
Araneus trifolium Dondale et al. 2003
Araneus trifolium Paquin & Dupérré 2003

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 accessible at http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/ARANEIDAE.html

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.

Other Nearctic Members of Genus Araneus Clerck, 1757‡‡

A. abigeatus Levi, 1975 ...............USA
A. alboventris (Emerton, 1884) ...............USA
A. allani Levi, 1973 ...............USA
A. alsine (Walckenaer, 1802) ...............Palearctic
A. andrewsi (Archer, 1951) ...............USA
A. angulatus Clerck, 1757 ...............Palearctic
A. apache Levi, 1975 ...............USA
A. arizonensis (Banks, 1900) ...............USA, Mexico
A. bicentenarius (McCook, 1888) ...............USA, Canada
A. bispinosus (Keyserling, 1885) ...............USA
A. bivittatus (Walckenaer, 1842) ...............USA
A. bonsallae (McCook, 1894) ...............USA
A. calusa Levi, 1973 ...............USA
A. carroll Levi, 1973 ...............USA
A. cavaticus (Keyserling, 1882) ...............USA, Canada
A. cingulatus (Walckenaer, 1842) ...............USA
A. circe (Audouin, 1826) ...............Palearctic
A. cochise Levi, 1973 ...............USA
A. corticarius (Emerton, 1884) ...............USA, Canada, Alaska
A. detrimentosus (O. P.-Cambridge, 1889) ...............USA to Colombia
A. diadematus Clerck, 1757 ...............Holarctic
A. diadematus islandicus (Strand, 1906) ...............Iceland
A. emmae Simon, 1900 ...............Hawaii
A. gadus Levi, 1973 ...............USA
A. gemma (McCook, 1888) ...............USA, Canada, Alaska
A. gemmoides Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935 ...............USA, Canada
A. groenlandicola (Strand, 1906) ...............USA, Canada, Greenland
A. guerrerensis Chamberlin & Ivie, 1936 ...............USA, Mexico
A. guttulatus (Walckenaer, 1842) ...............USA
A. illaudatus (Gertsch & Mulaik, 1936) ...............USA
A. iviei (Archer, 1951) ...............USA, Canada
A. juniperi (Emerton, 1884) ...............USA, Canada
A. kapiolaniae Simon, 1900 ...............Hawaii
A. kerr Levi, 1981 ...............USA
A. mammatus (Archer, 1951) ...............USA
A. mariposa Levi, 1973 ...............USA
A. marmoreus Clerck, 1757 ...............Holarctic
A. miami Levi, 1973 ...............USA
A. miniatus (Walckenaer, 1842) ...............USA
A. monica Levi, 1973 ...............USA
A. montereyensis (Archer, 1951) ...............North America
A. nashoba Levi, 1973 ...............USA
A. niveus (Hentz, 1847) ...............USA
A. nordmanni (Thorell, 1870) ...............Holarctic
A. partitus (Walckenaer, 1842) ...............USA
A. pegnia (Walckenaer, 1842) ...............USA to Ecuador and Jamaica
A. phrygiatus (Walckenaer, 1842) ...............USA
A. pratensis (Emerton, 1884) ...............USA, Canada
A. prunus Levi, 1973 ...............USA
A. quadratus Clerck, 1757 ...............Palearctic
A. raui Levi, 1973 ...............USA
A. saevus (L. Koch, 1872) ...............Holarctic
A. santarita (Archer, 1951) ...............USA
A. sturmi (Hahn, 1831) ...............Palearctic
A. texanus (Archer, 1951) ...............USA
A. thaddeus (Hentz, 1847) ...............North America
A. triguttatus (Fabricius, 1793) ...............Palearctic
A. tuscarora Levi, 1973 ...............USA
A. washingtoni Levi, 1971 ...............Russia, USA, Canada
A. yukon Levi, 1971 ...............Russia, Canada

‡‡May also include species with Palearctic distribution

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: 7/20/2008 3:58:37 PM).

Author Email Address: dshorthouse@eol.org
Text Last Modified: 2005-08-07T18:57:22Z