Fun Venusta Orchard Spider Facts For Kids

The Venusta orchard spider also known as the orchard orbweaver from order Araneae is a colorful, intricate spider that weaves circular webs that are usually horizontal and habitually hangs in the center of its web. The orchard spider is not to be confused with the spotted orb-weaver spider.

The orchard spider has a carapace that is yellowish-green in color with brown stripes and the top of the elongated abdomen is silvery with dark stripes. These spiders are variably colored with reds, silver, yellows, greens, and blues.

They have an orange or red crescent on the belly and their legs are long and slender. Males are usually seen during the spring season when they are mating in webs with females.

The orchard spider was given the Genus species by Charles Darwin who chose the scientific name 'leucauge', a Greek word that means 'bright gleam', and 'venusta', a Latin word that means 'beautiful, charming, or elegant'.

If you liked these true facts about the Venusta orchard spider, then you'll surely like these facts about the banded garden spider and red house spider too!

Venusta Orchard Spider Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a venusta orchard spider?

The venusta orchard spider's scientific name is Leucauge venusta, and they are also known as orchard orbweaver spiders. They belong to the class of Arachnids and are similar in appearance to the northern black widow spiders, which is another species belonging to the Arachnid class.

They have a small body with eight legs and have several sensory glands. They are found in places that are hot and humid and they spend their time weaving webs.

These spiders are sometimes confused with the spotted orb-weaver spider.

What class of animal does a venusta orchard spider belong to?

The venusta orchard spider (leucauge venusta) belongs to the class of Insecta order Araneae, and also belongs to the largest group of the Arthropod phylum. They are also known as orchard orbweaver spiders.

Insects usually have an exoskeleton with a three-part body and also have three pairs of legs. All insects lay eggs and are considered to be pests all over the world.

How many venusta orchard spiders are there in the world?

At present, there is no accurate data available on the population of venusta orchard weaver spiders in the world as these small creatures are hard to track and are widely spread all across the globe.

Where does a venusta orchard spider live?

Venusta orchard spiders (Leucauge venusta) are found in a wide range. These spiders are distributed from Canada, to Mexico to the central United States including Florida. These spiders are mostly spotted during spring and early summer which is their breeding season. These spiders are also found in some parts of South America.

What is a venusta orchard spider's habitat?

The venusta orchard spider (Leucauge venusta) can adapt to diverse habitats but most favorably lives in forested areas that retain moisture. Venusta orchard spiders weave their webs in low-lying shrubbery, areas or low branches of trees that are frequently visited by flying and jumping insects.

Even with the bright neon colors, these spiders are easily missed because they will rapidly subside from their webs when threatened or disturbed. These spiders are also commonly found in wooded suburban areas and between hedges and houses.

Who do venusta orchard spiders live with?

Venusta orchard spiders (Leucauge venusta) are solitary in nature just like most other spider species and are seen together only during mating seasons.

How long does a venusta orchard spider live?

Venusta orchard spiders live a very short life and this species lives for only about a year.

How do they reproduce?

A male Venusta orchard spider (leucauge venusta) mates during the spring season by transferring the sperm to slender structures attached to the ends of its pedipalps.

When a male spots a female during the breeding season, it ensures that it is of the same species through smell.

The male partakes in specifically synchronized mating rituals, which include vibrations on the female spider's web that allows it a safe passage to the center of the webs to mate. Egg fertilization happens internally, and once the eggs are fertilized females will create an egg sac of orange and white silk.

The egg sac is rolled up on leaves near the webs, reaching a diameter of 0.3 in (0.9 cm) which contains hundreds of eggs.

The female can continue laying eggs as long as its metabolism is maintained through feeding and a favorable habitat temperature.

What is their conservation status?

The venusta orchard spider belongs to the class of Arachnids and is found across the globe. They play an important role in the ecosystem by eliminating flying insects by preying on them as a source of food.

An accurate number of their population is hard to come by due to data deficiency but it can be assumed that they are thriving and have a high population. The IUCN has Not Evaluated these spiders.

Venusta Orchard Spider Fun Facts

What do venusta orchard spiders look like?

The venusta orchard spider is a small spider belonging to the family Tetragnathidae and their elongated abdomen is compact oval in size. They are long-jawed orb-weavers with vividly green legs which are covered in hairs and spines. The upper hindlimb of the fourth pair of legs is covered in trichobothria, exceptional sensory hairs.

This spider is occasionally mistaken for black widows because of the orange or red spots on its body.

How cute are they?

These spiders are not cute at all! This species of spiders are small-sized and very colorful in appearance with 10 legs that are extremely thin.

How do they communicate?

Just like other spider species, the venusta orchard spider communicates using touch and vibration senses known as seismic communication.

How big is a venusta orchard spider?

Venusta orchard spiders are also known as orchard orbweaver spiders. Adults can grow up to 0.1-0.2 in (0.35-0.75 cm) in length, compared to the largest species of spiders, the goliath birdeater. This creature is harmless.

How fast can a venusta orchard spider move?

Although accurate data on their speed cannot be found, these spiders are known for their high running speed! When they are in danger or sense predators around they start running rapidly.

How much does a venusta orchard spider weigh?

Even though an accurate weight has not been recorded, these spiders have a small body which means they are lightweight and weigh next to nothing.

What are their male and female names of the species?

No specific name has been assigned to either males or females of this species.

What would you call a baby venusta orchard spider?

Baby venusta orchard spiders are called spiderlings. After hatching from the egg sac, spiderlings climb on top of their mother and stay there until their first molt.

What do they eat?

The venusta orchard spider diet consists of small moths, leaf insects, flies, and other flying insects. The prey is crushed and then chewed up outside the mouth by the endites, fangs, and chelicerae. To predigest the tissues, these spiders pump digestive enzymes into the prey.

Are they poisonous?

Venusta orchard spiders belong to the Tetragnathidae family. They have a light temperament and are not dangerous or harmful to humans. They generally do not bite but venusta orchard spiders do bite when they are threatened and their venom is not very poisonous to humankind.

Would they make a good pet?

No, they would not. Though orchard spider, also known as an orchard orbweaver, is very colorful and small in size, they are gross in nature.

Even though keeping them as pets might seem a good idea for people who want to keep unique animals as pets, it isn't recommended to keep this spider as a pet! Since these spiders have a short lifespan and are tough to take care of, they are not suitable pets.

Did you know...

The venusta orchard weaver spider possesses incredible evolutionary traits that include sensory organs, a central nervous system, and lungs. The distinctive transformation of this spider is the ability to create constructional dazzling webs. This spider has weak vision but they are radical-sensitive to vibrations.

Unlike other spider species, the males are not killed by the females as they protect themselves with their fangs from their partners during mating, allowing them to live longer.

Like other orb-weaving spiders, the males are smaller in length when compared to their female mates.

Orchard orb weavers molt while hanging from the center of the web.

Many humans are frightened by spiders, but many spiders act as natural, organic, and nontoxic exterminators.

Not every spider web we see is spiral-shaped, a few spiders create funnel-shaped webs or dense sheets such as grass spiders weave non-sticky funnel-shaped webs.

What is the most poisonous spider in the world?

Brazilian wandering spiders are large, brown, and are similar to North American wolf spiders, but possess a more toxic venom. These spiders have the most neurologically active venom and are regarded as the most dangerous in the world.

What spider has an orange hourglass on its belly?

Brown widow spiders have a yellow-orange hourglass shape marking on the elongated abdomen. These spiders also have black and white marks on the top of the abdomen and dark bands on their legs.

This species of spiders is found all across the world but are believed to be native to South America. Their bites are painful but they are not considered to be lethal to humans.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these treehopper facts and flesh-fly facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable spider coloring pages.