Dr. George W. Uetz, Metepeira spinipes

George W. Uetz
Professor
Ph.D., University of Illinois
Animal Behavior, Behavioral Ecology, & Arachnology

Metepeira spinipes

Metepeira spinipes F.O. Pickard-Cambridge is the most widely-distributed of the colonial web-building spiders in this genus, ranging from the central valley of Mexico and the Southern tip of Baja California to Northern California and Oregon. M. spinipes also exhibits wide variation in social grouping tendencies, ranging from solitaries and small groups of 2-3 individuals in desert and higher elevation habitats to groups of tens to hundreds in in mesic riparian habitats near lakes in central Mexico (Uetz et al. 1982), and along creeks in coastal areas of central California (see El Niño Spider Project).

Our studies of this species in the past have been in the agricultural valley of central Mexico (near Tepotzotlan, Mex.), but recently have moved to the central California coast (see El Niño Project). M. spinipes is seasonal, actively foraging from May-November in central Mexico, but in other habitats, (e.g., central California coast) the active season may be longer.

M. spinipes colony

M. spinipes habitat

Experimental studies manipulating prey availability and “transplanting” colonies in the field in central Mexico suggest that colonial web-building in M. spinipes is facultative, and that prey availability plays a large role in determining group size, inter-individual spacing within colonies, and life history parameters over the gradient of habitats sampled (Uetz et al. 1982, Benton and Uetz 1986; Uetz et al. 1987).

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Research: 1. Wolf Spider Research | 2. Colonial Web-Building Spiders Research | 3. El Niño Influence on Colonial Web-Building Spiders. | 4. Impact of a Ecosystem Disturbance on Spider Populations and Communities