About Leucauge venusta (Walckenaer, 1841)
Leucauge venusta, commonly called the orchard orbweaver spider, is a species of long-jawed orbweaver spider. Its range extends from southern Canada down to Colombia, along the East coast of North America, reaching into the central United States, and it is also found in South Asia. The web of this spider is often oriented horizontally, and the spider hangs downward from the center of the web. It has a distinctive coloration: its legs and sides are leaf-green, though this color can vary to dark green or even orange in some individuals. The underside of its thorax has yellow and black spots, while the top of the thorax is silvery with brown and black streaks. Neon yellow, orange, or red spots on the rear of the abdomen vary in size between individual spiders, and are sometimes absent entirely. This species is parasitized by a wasp larva that attaches externally to the junction where the cephalothorax and abdomen meet. A similar species in the same genus Leucauge is Leucauge mariana.
