About this photo: This spider consistently constructed a web across a corner of the sliding door leading from our sun room onto the deck. After walking into the web several times, we decided to take a picture. I've argued that the pattern on the back matches that of figure 374 in How to Know the Spiders, by B.J. Kaston. We aren't able to nail down the identification because we can't examine tibia II of a male to determine if it is straight or curved, one of the keys to tell this species from arabesca. Linda thinks this is another picture of Neoscona arabesca, not domicilorum. All the texts point out the difficulty of identifying these species without having the spider in hand with a magnifying glass. |