| Popis: |
Members of the orb-weaving spider genus Acanthepeira Marx may be immediately recognized by the star-bellied shape of their abdomens (Fig.l). The common star-bellied orbweaver, Acanthepeira stellata (Walckenaer), is the most abundant, wide spread species in the genus, ranging from southern Canada southward through the eastern two-thirds of the United States into southern Mexico (Dondale et al. 2003). The first Kansas specimens were reported from Manhattan, Stockton, and Wallace (Scheffer 1904). Field work by the author has uncovered the presence of two additional species within the state: A. cherokee Levi and A. mari?n Levi. Therefore, three of the four species which comprise this New World genus are part of the Kansas fauna. |
