Leucauge


Leucauge is a spider genus of long-jawed orb weavers, with over 160 species and fully pantropical distribution.

Description

The body and leg shapes and the silver, black and yellow markings of Leucauge females make identification of the genus relatively easy. They have two rows of long, slender curved hairs on the femurs of the fourth leg. In most cases the web is slanted rather than vertical and the spider rests in the middle of the web with its underside facing upwards.

Detailed description

Leucauge species have a total body size of 10-20 mm.
The carapace is slightly longer than wide. There are eight eyes arranged in two rows with lateral eyes contiguous. The chelicerae are variable, being short and stout in some species or long and well developed with rows of large teeth in males. The endites are parallel and the sternum is longer than wide.
The abdomen is variable, being elongated and cylindrical in some species and extending caudally beyond the spinnerets. The abdomen displays distinct green, silver, white and bronze patterns. The spinnerets are unmodified with anterior and posterior pairs similar in size.
The legs have three claws and are long and slender. The posterior femora have a double fringe of trichobothria on the prolateral surface of the basal half.

Life style

Leucauge species spin large orb-webs both in the morning and during the day, sometimes reusing the frame and anchor lines. The inclination of the webs varies from vertical to horizontal but is most often at a sharp angle to the ground. The hub is open with clear, widely spaced viscid spirals.
Sometimes webs have more than one occupant, with as many as three spiders sharing a single web, each using a part of it. They are frequently found in damp places such as marshes or rainforest but are not restricted to damp areas.

Name

Greek λευκός means "white", while αὐγή means "dawn," so called because Leucauge spiders build their first web before dawn.

Taxonomy

The genus was first documented in Scottish zoologist Adam White's 1841 Description of new or little known Arachnida. Charles Darwin had suggested the name of the genus and collected the first specimen in May 1832, later named L. argyrobapta.
A vague description and the loss of the only specimen left the genus ill-defined. Leucauge developed into something of a wastebasket taxon containing 300 loosely related species, until research in the year 2010 resolved L. argyrobapta as a synonym of the quite common L. venusta and allowed revision and reclassing of the genus. However, a 2018 paper restored Leucauge argyrobapta as a separate species.

Species

The World Spider Catalog accepted 174 species and eight subspecies in the genus as of 2025.
This number includes:Leucauge argyraLeucauge argyrobaptaLeucauge celebesianaLeucauge decorataLeucauge digna – Saint HelenaLeucauge dromedaria Leucauge mabelaeLeucauge marianaLeucauge subblandaLeucauge subgemmeaLeucauge tessellataLeucauge undulataLeucauge venusta Leucauge abyssinica Strand, 1907 – EthiopiaLeucauge acuminata – Mexico, Central AmericaLeucauge albomaculata – CameroonLeucauge amanica Strand, 1907 – East AfricaLeucauge analis – Cameroon, Equatorial GuineaLeucauge annulipedella Strand, 1911 – Indonesia Leucauge apicata – CameroonLeucauge arbitrariana Strand, 1913 – Papua New Guinea Leucauge argentea – Mexico, Costa Rica, ColombiaLeucauge argenteanigra – São Tomé and PríncipeLeucauge argentina – Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan
  • * L. a. nigriceps – MalaysiaLeucauge argyra – USA to Brazil, GalapagosLeucauge argyrescens Benoit, 1978 – South Africa, Eswatini, Comoros, SeychellesLeucauge argyrobapta – USA to Brazil Leucauge argyrosticta – West Africa, DR CongoLeucauge atrostricta Badcock, 1932 – ParaguayLeucauge aureosignata – MadagascarLeucauge aurocincta – Indonesia Leucauge auronotum Strand, 1907 – South AfricaLeucauge aurostriata – Mexico, PanamaLeucauge badiensis Roewer, 1961 – SenegalLeucauge beata – IndiaLeucauge behemoth Ferreira-Sousa, Venticinque, Motta & Brescovit, 2023 – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, BrazilLeucauge bituberculata Baert, 1987 – GalapagosLeucauge blanda – Russia, China, Korea, Taiwan, JapanLeucauge bontoc Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – PhilippinesLeucauge branicki – Ecuador, Guyana, BrazilLeucauge brevitibialis Tullgren, 1910 – East AfricaLeucauge cabindae – West AfricaLeucauge camelina Caporiacco, 1940 – EthiopiaLeucauge camerunensis Strand, 1907 – CameroonLeucauge capelloi Simon, 1903 – Equatorial GuineaLeucauge caucaensis Strand, 1908 – ColombiaLeucauge caudacuta – Peru, GuyanaLeucauge caudata Hogg, 1914 – New GuineaLeucauge caudata – BrazilLeucauge celebesiana – Russia, Korea, India to China, Vietnam, Laos, Japan, Indonesia, New GuineaLeucauge clarki Locket, 1968 – AngolaLeucauge comorensis Schmidt & Krause, 1993 – ComorosLeucauge conifera Hogg, 1919 – Indonesia Leucauge cordivittata Strand, 1911 – Indonesia Leucauge crucinota – China, JapanLeucauge curta – PanamaLeucauge decorata – Tanzania, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Comoros, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia
  • * L. d. nigricauda Schenkel, 1944 – TimorLeucauge digna – St. HelenaLeucauge ditissima – Sri Lanka, MyanmarLeucauge dorsotuberculata Tikader, 1982 – IndiaLeucauge dromedaria – Australia, New ZealandLeucauge emertoni – Indonesia Leucauge eua Strand, 1911 – TongaLeucauge fasciiventris Kulczyński, 1911 – New GuineaLeucauge fastigata – India to Philippines, Indonesia
  • * L. f. korinchica – Indonesia Leucauge festiva – Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Equatorial Africa, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, MadagascarLeucauge fibulata – SingaporeLeucauge fishoekensis Strand, 1909 – South AfricaLeucauge formosa – Brazil, Argentina
  • * L. f. pozonae Schenkel, 1953 – VenezuelaLeucauge fragilis – Guatemala, Costa RicaLeucauge frequens Tullgren, 1910 – East AfricaLeucauge funebris Mello-Leitão, 1930 – Brazil, French GuianaLeucauge gemminipunctata Chamberlin & Ivie, 1936 – Panama, BrazilLeucauge gibbosa – ComorosLeucauge globosa – Guatemala to BrazilLeucauge granulata – India, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia,, French Polynesia
  • * L. g. marginata Kulczyński, 1911 – New Guinea
  • * L. g. rimitara Strand, 1911 – French Polynesia Leucauge grata – Japan, Laos, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon IslandsLeucauge hasselti – Indonesia Leucauge hebridisiana Berland, 1938 – VanuatuLeucauge henryi Mello-Leitão, 1940 – BrazilLeucauge idonea – Guatemala to BrazilLeucauge ilatele Marples, 1955 – SamoaLeucauge insularis – Australia, SamoaLeucauge iraray Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – PhilippinesLeucauge isabela Roewer, 1942 – Equatorial Guinea Leucauge japonica – JapanLeucauge kibonotensis Tullgren, 1910 – East AfricaLeucauge kuchingensis – BorneoLeucauge lechei Strand, 1908 – MadagascarLeucauge lehmannella Strand, 1908 – ColombiaLeucauge leprosa – MyanmarLeucauge levanderi – Ethiopia, Congo, South AfricaLeucauge licina – CaribbeanLeucauge linyphia Simon, 1903 – Equatorial GuineaLeucauge liui Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003 – China, TaiwanLeucauge loltuna Chamberlin & Ivie, 1938 – MexicoLeucauge lombokiana Strand, 1913 – Indonesia Leucauge longimana – PeruLeucauge longipes F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1903 – MexicoLeucauge longula – Myanmar, Indonesia, Leucauge lugens – Mexico, PanamaLeucauge macrochoera – Myanmar, Indonesia
  • * L. m. tenasserimensis – MyanmarLeucauge mahabascapea Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – PhilippinesLeucauge mahurica Strand, 1913 – Papua New Guinea Leucauge malkini Chrysanthus, 1975 – Solomon IslandsLeucauge mammilla Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003 – ChinaLeucauge margaritata – CameroonLeucauge mariana – Mexico, Hispaniola to PeruLeucauge medjensis Lessert, 1930 – DR Congo, Tanzania, South AfricaLeucauge melanoleuca – BrazilLeucauge mendanai Berland, 1933 – French Polynesia Leucauge meruensis Tullgren, 1910 – Tanzania
  • * L. m. karagonis Strand, 1913 – RuandaLeucauge mesomelas – MexicoLeucauge moerens – Mexico, Central America, Puerto RicoLeucauge moheliensis Schmidt & Krause, 1993 – ComorosLeucauge nagashimai Ono, 2011 – JapanLeucauge nanshan Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003 – China Leucauge nicobarica – India Leucauge nigricauda Simon, 1903 – Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial GuineaLeucauge nigrocincta Simon, 1903 – West Africa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea Leucauge nigrotarsalis – Indonesia Leucauge obscurella Strand, 1913 – Central AfricaLeucauge opiparis Simon, 1907 – São Tomé and PríncipeLeucauge papuana Kulczyński, 1911 – New GuineaLeucauge paranensis – BrazilLeucauge parangscipinia Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – PhilippinesLeucauge pinarensis – CubaLeucauge polita – Mexico, GuatemalaLeucauge popayanensis Strand, 1908 – ColombiaLeucauge prodiga – SamoaLeucauge pulcherrima – Colombia, French GuianaLeucauge pusilla – Myanmar, Indonesia Leucauge quadrifasciata – Indonesia, MalaysiaLeucauge quadripenicillata – Indonesia Leucauge regnyi – CaribbeanLeucauge reimoseri Strand, 1936 – Central AfricaLeucauge roseosignata Mello-Leitão, 1943 – BrazilLeucauge rubripleura – BrazilLeucauge rubromaculata Benjamin, 2024 – Sri LankaLeucauge rubrotrivittata Simon, 1906 – IndiaLeucauge ruwenzorensis Strand, 1913 – Central AfricaLeucauge sabahan Dzulhelmi, 2016 – Malaysia Leucauge saphes Chamberlin & Ivie, 1936 – PanamaLeucauge sarawakensis – Malaysia, BruneiLeucauge scalaris – Indonesia Leucauge semiventris Strand, 1908 – ColombiaLeucauge senegalensis Roewer, 1961 – SenegalLeucauge severa – BrazilLeucauge signiventris Strand, 1913 – Central AfricaLeucauge simplex F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1903 – MexicoLeucauge soeensis Schenkel, 1944 – TimorLeucauge speciosissima – PeruLeucauge spiculosa Bryant, 1940 – CubaLeucauge splendens – BrazilLeucauge stictopyga – Indonesia Leucauge striatipes – AustraliaLeucauge subadulta Strand, 1906 – JapanLeucauge subblanda Bösenberg & Strand, 1906 – Russia, China, Korea, Taiwan, JapanLeucauge subgemmea Bösenberg & Strand, 1906 – Russia, China, Korea, JapanLeucauge superba – Indonesia Leucauge synthetica Chamberlin & Ivie, 1936 – PanamaLeucauge taczanowskii – French GuianaLeucauge taiwanica Yoshida, 2009 – TaiwanLeucauge tanikawai Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003 – ChinaLeucauge tellervo Strand, 1913 – Central AfricaLeucauge tengchongensis Wan & Peng, 2013 – ChinaLeucauge tessellata – India to China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Taiwan, Indonesia Leucauge thomeensis Kraus, 1960 – São Tomé and Príncipe, Botswana, South AfricaLeucauge tredecimguttata – PhilippinesLeucauge trilineata – BrazilLeucauge tristicta – India Leucauge tupaqamaru Archer, 1971 – PeruLeucauge turbida – BrazilLeucauge uberta – BrazilLeucauge undulata – Ethiopia, East Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius Leucauge ungulata – West, East Africa, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and PríncipeLeucauge venusta – Canada, United StatesLeucauge vibrabunda – Indonesia Leucauge virginis – Indonesia Leucauge viridecolorata Strand, 1916 – JamaicaLeucauge volupis – Brazil, Paraguay, ArgentinaLeucauge wangi Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003 – ChinaLeucauge wokamara Strand, 1911 – Indonesia Leucauge wulingensis Song & Zhu, 1992 – ChinaLeucauge xiaoen Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003 – ChinaLeucauge xiuying Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003 – China, LaosLeucauge zizhong Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003 – China, Laos