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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaArthropodaChelicerataArachnidaAraneaeTetragnathidaeLeucauge

Orchard Orbweaver
Leucauge venusta (Walckenaer, 1841)

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Chelicerata
Class Arachnida
Order Araneae
Family Tetragnathidae
Genus Leucauge
Species Leucauge venusta (Walckenaer, 1841)

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Trogloxene
Realm
Terrestrial

Distribution

Range

Known from five counties across three states.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky

Counties

Alabama
Morgan
Illinois
Jo Daviess, Monroe, St. Clair
Kentucky
Larue

Conservation and management

NatureServe

GNR Unranked

G1G2G3G4G5

National ranks

Canada
N4 Apparently Secure
United States
NNR

Subnational ranks

Quebec
SNR Unranked
Ontario
S4 Apparently Secure
New Brunswick
SU Unrankable
Nova Scotia
SU Unrankable
South Carolina
SNR Unranked
Indiana
S5 Secure
West Virginia
SNR Unranked
Alabama
SNR Unranked

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

References

  • Niemiller, M.L., Maxwell, E. & Higgs, J.P. 2024. A biological inventory of Sinking Spring Cave at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park, Larue County, Kentucky, USA. U.S. National Park Service, Hodgenville, Kentucky, USA. 21 pp.
  • Niemiller, M.L., Anderson, C.L., Maxwell, E.C., Midgette, H., Quering, C., Richards, M., Wilson, K. & Wirwa, N. 2025. A noteworthy range extension of the federally endangered Alabama Cave Shrimp (Palaemonias alabamae) south of the Tennessee River in northern Alabama. Southeastern Naturalist 24: N47-N58. doi:10.1656/058.024.0403
  • Peck, S.B. 1989. The cave fauna of Alabama. Part I. The terrestrial invertebrates (excluding insects). National Speleological Society Bulletin 51: 11–33.
  • Webb, D.W., Taylor, S.J. & Krejca, J.K. 1993. The biological resources of Illinois caves and other subterranean environments. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA. 143 pp.

How to cite this account

Leucauge venusta (Walckenaer, 1841). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2578. https://cavebiology.org/species/leucauge-venusta/ (accessed 7 September 2026).

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.

Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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