Orb Weaver Spider

Description:

An orange Orb Weaver . Agalenatea is a species of 'orbweavers' belonging to the family Araneidae subfamily Araneinae. This species is present in most of Europe and in central Asia. The adult males of these spiders reach 4–5 millimetres (0.16–0.20 in) of length, while females are 7–8 millimetres (0.28–0.31 in) long. They are active very early and adults can already be encountered from April. This species is thermophilic and prefers open habitats, like sandy and arid grasslands, sunny edges of woods, warm steppes, etc. The basic color of the body varies from light or dark brown to yellowish-orange. They usually show a dark longitudinal band in the middle of the abdomen, with some trasversal bands. Sometimes the opisthosoma has two large white spots or one dark brown light-edged spot on the back. The whole body is densely hairy, especially in the anterior body section (Prosoma). The abdomen (Opisthosoma ) is quite flat and wider than long.

Habitat:

Flowering plants, sandy and arid grasslands, sunny edges of woods, warm steppes, etc