Araneidae  Clerck, 1757 / Araniella  Chamberlin & Ivie, 1942   7 species

Araniella cucurbitina (Clerck, 1757)

Description

Male palp with blunt tip of tegulum. Median apophysis short and hook-shaped (± rectangular) toward the tip. Epigyne with scapus ± as wide as long, overtops epigyne only slightly. Receptacula seminis strongly shining through at posterior epigynal margin. Prosoma yellow to red-brown. Male: mostly with dark marginal band. Legs yellow-red-brown, frequently with dark annulations. Femur I male: ventral median part lacking bristles (regularly 3 bristles basally, 1 bristle distally). Opisthosoma yellowish green, dorsally with 1-4 pairs of black lateral dots, ventral median field rarely darker than surrounding area, often with brightened areas.

Body length male: 3.5-4.5 mm
Body length female: 4.5-9.5 mm
Additional information

On trees, bushes and in herbaceous layer.

Compare with A. opisthographa.

Distribution
  Presence
  No data
Global distribution (WSC 2026): Europe, Turkey, Russia (Europe) to Central Asia, China, Korea
Phenology
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
 male  female
Figures
Distribution List
Albania   (Deltshev et al., 2011b; Vrenozi, 2012; Blick, 2018) ||| Algeria   (Benhacene et al., 2023) ||| Andorra   (Branco et al., 2019) ||| Armenia   (Otto, 2022) ||| Austria   (Thaler & Knoflach, 2003) ||| Azerbaijan   (Otto, 2022) ||| Belarus   (Ivanov, 2013) ||| Belgium   (Bosmans & Van Keer, 2017) ||| Bosnia and Herzegovina   (Komnenov, 2010) ||| Bulgaria   (Blagoev et al., 2018) ||| Croatia   (Milosevic, 2002) ||| Czechia   (Růžička & Řezáč, 2022a) ||| Denmark   (Scharff & Gudik-Sørensen, 2006) ||| Estonia   (Vilbaste, 1987) ||| Finland   (Koponen et al., 2016) ||| France   (Le Peru, 2007) ||| France / Corsica   (Le Peru, 2007) ||| Georgia   (Otto, 2022) ||| Germany   (Blick et al., 2016) ||| Greece   (Bosmans & Chatzaki, 2005) ||| Hungary   (Samu & Szinetár, 1999) ||| Ireland   (Lavery, 2019) ||| Italy   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| Italy / Sardinia   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| Italy / Sicily   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| Kosovo   (Vrenozi & Jäger, 2013; Deltshev et al., 2003b) ||| Latvia   (Cera, 2018) ||| Liechtenstein   (Arnold, 2001) ||| Lithuania   (Biteniekytė & Rėlys, 2012) ||| Luxembourg   (Kreuels et al., 2019) ||| Moldova   (Vasiliev & Mikhailov, 2023) ||| Montenegro   (Naumova et al., 2019a) ||| Morocco   (Benhalima & Bosmans, 2024) ||| Netherlands   (van Helsdingen, 2025a) ||| North Macedonia   (Komnenov, 2014) ||| Northern Ireland   (Lavery, 2019) ||| Norway   (Aakra & Hauge, 2003) ||| Poland   (Rozwałka & Stanska, 2008) ||| Portugal   (Branco et al., 2019) ||| Romania   (Weiss & Petrișor, 1999) ||| Russia, Central   (Ponomarev, 2022) ||| Russia, Eastern   (Esyunin & Efimik, 1996a) ||| Russia, Kaliningrad Region   (Schikora, 2014) ||| Russia, Northern   (Osipov, 2019) ||| Russia, Southern   (Otto, 2022; Ponomarev, 2022) ||| Russia, Western   (no references) ||| Serbia   (Deltshev et al., 2003b) ||| Slovakia   (Gajdoš et al., 1999) ||| Slovenia   (Kostanjšek & Kuntner, 2015) ||| Spain   (Branco et al., 2019) ||| Sweden   (Kronestedt, 2001) ||| Switzerland   (Maurer & Hänggi, 1990) ||| Tunisia   (Kmira et al., 2025) ||| Turkey (Asia)   (Danışman et al., 2025a) ||| Turkey (Europe)   (Demircan Aksan & Topçu, 2022c) ||| Ukraine   (Polchaninova & Prokopenko, 2019) ||| United Kingdom   (Lavery, 2019) |||
References

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