Found this spider in Assen(NL) can anyone identify it?
That's an Araniella orbweaver, Araniella cf. cucurbitina.
Also known as cucumber spiders.
this post was submitted on 02 May 2024
36 points (100.0% liked)
What is this thing?
5530 readers
4 users here now
Let us help you identify that mysterious object you’ve found.
Currently in CHALLENGE mode: If you've got something obscure knocking about, post a picture, and let's see how we do. Please prefix such posts with "CHALLENGE:" so we know we've got a fighting chance.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Or ~~Araniella cucurbitina~~ Cucumber Spider in English.
Or Araniella cucurbitina in ~~English~~ Latin.
Or Greek. Or just a made up word by some biologist. Or named after themselfes or a celebrity. Taxanomy is lawless.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=XKRW1zgkCVc
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Or Araniella cucurbitina in English.
That's actually the taxonomic name so it's good in all languages.
I was hinting more at the Wikipedia page language, but yeah. It's the scientific name, so good in most if not all languages.
Edited.
All good. "common names" can actually be incredibly tricky and sometimes they even differ by just geography but suddenly mean a totally different spider. Like "house spiders" mean different spiders in the US or Europe. That's why the taxanomic names are really important.
Another very good example is "daddy long legs" which can mean "cellar spider", "harvestmen" or "crane fly". Entire different families of animals even.
Ah. My favorite Henry Ford quote:
The taxonomist can have the name in any language they want, so long as it is Latin.
That is very true in the mammals. But with athropods things really get crazy as there are sooo many. I linked a video in another comment.
Probably a crab spider Misumena vatia (NL: gewone kameleonspin D: veränderliche Krabbenspinne). They vary in colour quite a lot. Usually they are sitting on a blossom of similar colour and wait for prey.
General shape (crab spiders have prominently larger front legs) doesn't check out.
No, this one is actually looks green.
I think I already found it, it's about 3.5mm long, bright green abdomen with green legs and a brown head, it looks like a Green Meshspider(Nigma Walckenaeri). I just wasn't sure because most descriptions of this have more yellow-ish legs, these are green all the way until the legs are too thin to really show visible color.
For the one I proposed, yellowish green is also possible. The one in your link seems to have a hairy abdomen, which I don't see in your picture. Also it seems to be much darker greenly coloured. (Just my two cents, but I'm no expert)
green one
idk looks more like golden to me
tbh it kinda does
Never go by colour or pattern alone (unless it's super unique). General body shape is probably the biggest exclusionary factors, followed by size and geography.
This thread went through almost all the green spiders in Europe. I think we are only missing Micrommata virescens. But even without the colour, this spider is an orb-weaver, just from it's shape and legs.